Parent Resources

Valerie L. Marsh, MSW, is Executive Director of the National Coalition for Mental Health Recovery (NCMHR). Marsh received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social...

The stakes are very high when loving parents anxiously sit down across from a child psychiatrist who has completed an ADHD evaluation of their child. All of the parents' high hopes for their precious child's well-being and future happiness are pressing on the parent's heart and mind. The psychiatrist leans to the side, reaches into a drawer, and lifts out a life-size model of a human brain for the parent or parents to see. The little five-year-old sitting on the floor playing stops and looks up at a model of his or her brain as the psychiatrist breaks the bad news. And the question is formed right then in the little boy or little girl's soul that may haunt the child for the rest of their lives – "Why is there something wrong with my brain?"

Giovanni Andrea Fava earned his medical degree from the University of Padova in 1977.  In Padova he also completed his residency training in psychiatry.  After...

Emily Lupsor is a social worker in Charlotte, North Carolina where she uses her lived experience to inform her practice. Emily facilitates a mutual...

Steve Imperato is a thinker and writer diagnosed with rapid cycling bipolar disorder.  He is mainly concerned with battling the "disorder" label and exploring...

Mariel Chance has a Master's Degree in Sociology and is hoping to be accepted into an MSW program in Boston. She has been an...

Andrew Thibault is an extremely curious, inconvenient parent.  He is Co-Founder of Parents Against Pharmaceutical Abuse (PAPA), a parent movement opposed to over-diagnosis and...

Jock McLaren is an Australian psychiatrist, author, and critic (in no particular order). He has practiced psychiatry in remote areas and stayed passably sane...

Vlado C's first exposure to psychiatry came in his thirties when an antidepressant prescription for mild symptoms turned into a full blown crisis and...

Tales from the Madhouse: Gary is a freelance writer and trainer who opted to leave his Consultant Clinical Psychologist post after 33 years of employment...

Illness and the Analytical Mind: Twilah Hiari is a recovering patient with a B.A. in Philosophy. She explores how the siloed nature of Western medicine...

Michael Baker is a writer from Ontario, Canada. He believes that self-­awareness and acceptance are the keys to mental health. Michael enjoys sharing his...

Matt is a survivor of child abuse and has been working with other survivors for ten years. Matt is currently completing a PhD investigating psychological...

A new study published in the journal Neuroscience finds that rats given regular doses of amphetamines during adolescence have brain and behavioral changes in adulthood....

Serafina B. is a 36-year-old artist born in Nicuaragua who has won art prizes and has pieces in museum collections.  She has been diagnosed with...

After over thirty years in the mental health system and almost five institutionalized, Deena Hoblit continues to search for closure through the study of...

Kirk J. Schneider, PhD, is a licensed psychologist and leading spokesperson for contemporary existential-humanistic psychology. Dr. Schneider is the past editor of the Journal...

Dr. LeFrançois, an ‘indisciplined’ academic and activist, has been deconstructing psychiatric violence for 20 years. She writes about children’s rights, sanism and building coalitions...

Opeyemi Parham practiced family medicine for just over twenty years as Dr. Camilla Parham. Eleven years "post-doctoring," she believes that those initials behind her name signify...

Kermit Cole, MFT, founding editor of MIA, works in Santa Fe, NM as a couple & family therapist. Inspired by Open Dialogue — as well as by the...

Dorrit Cato Christensen is an author, lecturer and chairman of the Danish association Dead in Psychiatric Care. She devoted her life to helping people...

Mariaelena Bartesaghi teaches Communication at the University Of South Florida. Her research on psychiatry as an institutional discourse of authority has been published in various...

Amber Gum is a professor and licensed psychologist. She conducts research to improve the accessibility and effectiveness of behavioral interventions. She has written about...

Alison Page is a benzodiazepine survivor. She took prescribed benzodiazepines off and on for 16 months and was rapidly tapered off. She ended up...

Life Unarmed: Matthew practices individual, couple and family therapy at the Council for Relationships in Philadelphia. He is passionate about working with adults and children...