Someone I Used to Know
When I sit in Billie’s office, I am still 13 years old, bitter anger saturating my body. I am 23, sobbing that I cannot do this anymore. I am 24, celebrating my first year of college. I am all of these people and none of these people.
Childhood Trauma Is Not a Mental Illness
My childhood was stolen by systems focused on labeling and medicating me instead of healing the effects of abuse and neglect.
Antidepressants Still Linked to Increased Suicide Risk
Bias and financial conflicts in antidepressant trials “contribute to systematic underestimation of risk in the published literature.”
College Tuition Sparked a Mental Health Crisis. Then the Hospital Bill Arrived.
From KHN: A student from Mumbai with an interest in comedy discovers that college tuition, hospital bills, and psychiatric treatment are all very bad jokes in America.
Remembering Jennifer Kinzie (1979-2021)
Jennifer Kinzie was a licensed mental health counselor who used her lived experience to guide her work—not only as a counselor and therapist, but also as a volunteer with psychiatric survivor groups.
More Parents Seek ADHD Diagnosis and Drugs for Kids to Manage Remote Learning
From NBC News: "I'm watching kids who used to love school become unenthused and unmotivated," said one Michigan-based pediatrician.
The Role of Love in Mental Health
The one core ingredient on which any recovery from emotional distress depends is the one that never makes an appearance in any medical handbook or psychiatric diagnostic manual—that is, love.
A 9-Year-Old Was Pepper-Sprayed by Police. Here’s What Should Have Happened Instead
From USA TODAY: To expect a child to be able to overcome a biological stress response for the sake of compliance demonstrates a lack of understanding, said child advocate Deb Rosen.
The False Memory Syndrome at 30: How Flawed Science Turned into Conventional Wisdom ...
Soon after states finally began providing adults who remembered childhood abuse with the legal standing to sue, the FMSF began waging a PR campaign to discredit their memories—in both courtrooms and in the public mind.
The Nurtured Heart Approach Instead of Drugs: An Interview with Howard Glasser
This episode of “Mad in the Family” focuses on a non-drug method to bringing out the best in challenging children, particularly those diagnosed with “ADHD.” It is called the Nurtured Heart Approach® and its essence is that, in the words of our guest, “the same intensity that drives people crazy is actually the source of a child’s greatness."
A Nurse’s Nightmare: Child Nearly Dies from ADHD Drug
My hope and prayer is that this dramatic look at a negative effect of this class of drugs will help you understand that, in my professional assessment, their risks outweigh their benefits.
Surge of Student Suicides Pushes Las Vegas Schools to Reopen
From The New York Times: Firmly linking teen suicides to school closings is difficult, but rising mental health emergencies point to the toll the pandemic lockdown is taking.
Now I See a Person: A New Model for Breaking Free of Mental Health...
NISAPI helps people achieve recovery by pairing the normalcy of a ranch and the nurturance of horses with a philosophy of postmodern collaborative practice.
Why Some College Dorm Policies Are Driving Students Into Depression
From Forbes: Out of concern for their bottom line, colleges are betraying their students and trapping them in social isolation.
To the Young Person Who Doesn’t Identify with Their Disability Diagnosis Anymore
Your diagnosis should serve YOU. Not your parents, your doctors, your teachers, or the next door neighbor. We should be fighting for a future where the person being labeled has the ultimate say over how doctors and therapists view them.
Writing Is My Best Medicine
For me, writing is a powerful tool for wellness and healing, whether that involves an escape into science fiction or simply putting my dreams, emotions, memories, and observations on paper.
Rethinking Suicide Prevention: An Interview on Critical Suicide Studies with Jennifer White
MIA’s Samantha Lilly interviews critical youth suicidologist Jennifer White about what suicide prevention could look like outside of the medical model.
Increasing Numbers of Children Prescribed Multiple Psychiatric Medications
According to researchers, children are being increasingly prescribed multiple different psychiatric medications.
Teenage Hockey Player Working to Destigmatize ‘Mental Health Issues’
From ESPN: "No one with mental health issues should be called a burden," said Morgan Urso. "And that is the stigma I am trying to end."
Researchers: Antidepressant Use in Children Increases Suicide, No Evidence of Benefit
Noted antidepressant researcher, Michael Hengartner, summarizes the latest research on the use of antidepressants in children and adolescents.
Hundreds of Children Stuck in IL Psych Hospitals Despite State’s Promises to Find Them...
From ProPublica Illinois: “There’s not a whole lot that tells a kid you don’t matter [more] than keeping them locked up in a psych ward for no reason other than there’s nowhere to place them for months on end."
Four Children
I went to the children’s ward, to work with the kids. I remembered to tell all of them that I had been locked up my whole childhood on psych wards, and this always made them trust me.
Is ADHD Diagnosis Flawed? Younger Classmates More Likely to Be Diagnosed
From Sociology Lens: If ADHD is a genetically determined neurobiological disorder, a child’s birthdate, gender and other factors should have no bearing on their chances of ‘having’ it.
Suicidal Thoughts, Psychiatric Diagnosis, and What Really Helps: Part Two
This piece is the second of a two-part essay about suicide, diagnosis, what doesn't help, and what does help. This part is about barriers to seeking help and about the ways we actually can be of help to people who are considering suicide.
Suicidal Thoughts, Psychiatric Diagnosis, and What Really Helps: Part One
This piece is the first of a two-part essay about suicide, diagnosis, what doesn't help, and what does help. This part is about suicide, diagnosis, and some of what fails to help.
