Saving Lives or Cementing Stigma? A Review of “Just Like You…”
In my experience, episodes of anxiety and depression dwindle in the face of hope and empowerment, while broken-brain narratives lead to deeper despair.
Trusting People as Experts of Themselves: Sera Davidow on the Wildflower Peer Support Line
Sera Davidow is a filmmaker, activist, advocate, author, and mother of two very busy kids. As a survivor of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse...
Connecting the Dots: My Toxic Workplace Made Me “Mentally Ill”
In 1996, I suffered my first manic episode. My mother was convinced it had been caused by chemical exposure. But I wouldn’t hear it, and neither would my psychiatrists.
Engaging “Madness”: A Guide for Significant Others and Families
Using personal stories from my own family, my new booklet Engaging 'Madness' paints a clear picture of what an alternative healing journey outside the biomedical paradigm can look like.
Parenting Changed My Perspective on “ADHD”
My experience of raising a son who was bright and creative but didn’t fit the mold helped me to approach my restless, impulsive students more compassionately and creatively.
Why Do People Self-Harm, and How Can We Stop It?
The psychiatric treatments I underwent did nothing to help me come to terms with my troubled past. Self-harm did not serve me well either. We must re-learn what to expect from ourselves.
Antipsychotics Worsen Cognitive Functioning in First-Episode Psychosis
Withholding antipsychotics may be beneficial for memory, the researchers write.
ADHD Drugs Are Convenient to Get Online. Maybe Too Convenient
From Bloomberg Businessweek: Backed by SoftBank and promoted by Simone Biles, Cerebral has built the fastest-growing online mental health business. Former employees say the rapid expansion comes at the expense of patient care.
For the Love and Care of the People: An Interview with Vanessa Green on...
An interview with Vanessa Green, executive director of Call BlackLine a nationally recognized hotline serving BIPOC and LGBTQI communities.
Collateral Damage: The Negative Impact of Antidepressants on New Zealand Youth
Health and wellbeing in young people are trending down in New Zealand. Are antidepressants to blame?
Medicating Preschoolers for ADHD: How “Evidence-Based” Psychiatry Has Led to a Tragic End
The prescribing of stimulants to preschoolers diagnosed with ADHD is on the rise, which is said to be an "evidence-based" practice. A review of that "evidence base" reveals that claims that ADHD is characterized by genetic and brain abnormalities are belied by the data, and that the NIMH trial of methylphenidate in this age group told of long-term harm.
As Conservatorship Abuse Gains More Attention, More Activists Speak Out Against It
From The Daily Kos: "Saying that you’re going to remove someone’s rights in order to protect them doesn’t make any sense," said activist Marian Kornicki. "People need support, but you don’t remove their rights to do that."
Save the Date! Kids in Crisis: The Overprescribing of Psychiatric Medication
Mad in America presents a live Town Hall featuring a special, private screening of "Luna" followed by a panel discussion.
Mother of 11-Year-Old Who Died by Suicide Sues Social Media Firms Meta, Snap
From The Washington Post: The lawsuit alleges Selena Rodriguez’s suicide was "caused by the defective design, negligence and unreasonably dangerous features of their products," the Social Media Victims Law Center said in a statement.
How to Raise Emotionally Intelligent Children
From TED: What would it be like if we helped parents unpack their own childhood, so they don’t have to carry that baggage and put it on their children’s shoulders?
Why Is Child Sexual Abuse So Common in Institutions?
Where ableism and adultism allows disabled children to be seen as unreliable narrators of their own experience, sexual violence in institutions will continue to be pervasive.
Home Alone: Finding Connection During the Pandemic
This wave of emotional distress is a perfectly reasonable human response to living our lives in an increasingly isolated and uncertain world.
Understanding the Youth Mental Health Crisis: An Interview with Elia Abi-Jaoude
The child psychiatrist talks about the importance of seeing the big picture and why parents shouldn't "be afraid if their kid is in distress."
Love Can Fuel the Deep Empathy Needed to Understand Psychosis
From Psyche: Understanding, being understood and sharing a meaningful life are central to feelings of belonging, which in turn are fundamental to wellbeing and recovery from mental health problems.
Guardianship Destroyed My Family
People who can’t take care of themselves need support and protection, but guardianship provides neither. I know: I've lived it.
Reducing Mental Health Detention of People with Autism and/or Learning Disabilities
From Doughty Street Chambers: People with learning disabilities and/or autism who have experienced and survived institutionalisation often carry the psychological scars for many years.
Interview: Abuse and Neglect at Private “Troubled Teen” Centers
Parents, beware: Disability rights lawyer Diane Smith Howard shares disturbing findings on conditions at youth residential treatment facilities.
New Year’s Resolution: Address Grief and Trauma in Healthy Ways
From Darcia Narvaez, PhD: Everyone needs to learn to grieve losses and deal with shock. Here are practices that build resilience in children (and everyone).
Fatherland Dreamland Motherland Hinterland
I grew up in Rhodesia, a British colony in southern Africa. Until the age of 16, I lived on the grounds of Ingutsheni Mental Hospital where my father worked. As a psychiatrist, he had enormous power.
Q&A: My Child Is Suicidal. What Should I Do?
My child talks about wanting to die. She is only 9 years old. There is so much information out there about what family or friends should say to people who are suicidal, but I’m wondering if there is special advice for supporting a child or young person versus an adult.
