Stealing My Mother From Me: The Horrors of Conservatorship
My beloved mother was mistreated, cheated, abused mentally, and alienated from her family by her conservator and the courts.
School Phone Bans and “Mental Health”
Banning school phones is not an answer to improving mental health.
Q&A: My Child Is Self-Harming. How Can I Help?
I walked in on my teenaged daughter cutting her upper leg with a razor. I have also noticed multiple cuts and what look like cigarette burns on her wrists and torso. She’s always made excuses about them, but now I realize she has been self-harming for a while. She swears she isn’t suicidal. What’s this all about, and what can I do?
Animal Study: SSRI Neurotoxic in Pregnancy
Researchers: Fetal exposure to vilazodone hampers neurodevelopment and leads to "long-lasting neurodevelopmental impairments."
1 in 3 UK Teens Given Antidepressants, Despite Official Guidelines
From inews.co.uk: Family doctors say a lack of access to effective psychological therapies on the NHS is leading them to over-prescribe medication.
Memories of a Childhood in a Mental Hospital
My stay at the hospital had no impact on the problem that led to my admission. But it did exacerbate other problems and change me in fundamental ways. I am a deformed product of that ‘cutting-edge facility’ and the ‘treatments’ I received there — social isolation, pills and shots, ice bath and ECT.
Suicides Are Increasing – And So Are Antidepressant Prescriptions
Disturbingly, our study and others reveal that the black box warning is now ignored in many countries, since antidepressant prescriptions for children are on the rise again. Despite increasing certainty that antidepressants are ineffective and likely cause suicidal behavior in young people, psychiatry continues to claim that they reduce suicide risk.
The Path from Trauma to The Power of Nature: An Interview with Banning Lyon
Our guest today is Banning Lyon, author of The Chair and The Valley: A Memoir of Trauma, Healing, and The Outdoors. An account of...
My Sister Lucy’s Death and Life: Picturing an Alternate Timeline of Recovery
I’ll never forget standing beside my sister Lucy as she was strapped to a gurney during a midnight admission to an E.R. in Cambridge, Mass.
Q&A: My Child is Being Bullied
I have a young son who is being verbally bullied by his peers. He is a sensitive child— thin, wears glasses, athletic and intelligent. I suspect the problem may be related to anti-Semitism. I feel like telling him that he needs to fight the bullies with his fists. His mother advises him to ignore the bullies and to concentrate on his studies. What would you advise?
Teen Arts Exhibition: Beyond Labels And Meds: What It Feels Like To Be Me
28 teen artists share the power of their creativity in this collection of profoundly moving, courageous, and beautiful artwork.
Study Confirms Overdiagnosis of ADHD in Children and Teens
Medical researchers present evidence that ADHD is overdiagnosed in children and teens, which can lead to significant harm.
Q&A: Dad Is Coercing Son to Get Off Meds
My son was diagnosed with schizophrenia five years ago and now lives in a residential facility with a holistic treatment approach. However, his father has repeatedly and aggressively tried to coerce him to get off medication. My son and his provider have repeatedly asked him to stop, and the stress of his father’s pressure is setting him back. What should we do?
Psychiatric Butchery: What I’ve Seen at a Homeless Shelter for Women with Children
Children are being given psychiatric drugs, “treated” for the abuse they receive in the harsh world of the homeless.
Q&A: Is My Child Being Overdrugged?
My eight-year-old daughter has diagnoses of ADHD, depression, anxiety, and ODD. She is taking four prescribed drugs, but she is still suffering and her behavior hasn’t changed much. Her doctor is suggesting adding yet another med. I’m wondering how many drugs are enough? I am starting to think she should go off some of them. I want to trust the psychiatrist, but I’m just not sure anymore.
Trans Lifeline: Naming Trans-Specific Harm in Mental Health
Interim Hotline Manager Jahmil Roberts and Advocacy Director Yana Calou from the Trans Lifeline work towards connecting trans people to the community support and resources they need to survive and thrive - free of prisons and police
Dubious Science: Downplaying the Risks of Antidepressants in Pregnancy
When popular websites, such as Johns Hopkins and the Mayo Clinic, downplay the possible risks of antidepressant use in pregnancy, they are ignoring the evidence.
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).
Making Mental Health an Ongoing Priority: A Patch Adams Approach
My brother’s sudden death and Mental Health Awareness Month spurred me to spend May making small, very personal efforts to both honor his memory and move the mental health conversation forward.
The FDA Warned an Asthma Drug Could Induce Despair. Many Were Never Told.
From The New York Times: Singulair, now a generic, is still used by millions of Americans even after thousands of patients and dozens of studies have described harm. Children face the greatest risks of the drug's ill effects.
How to Distinguish Antidepressant Withdrawal from Relapse
Mark Horowitz and David Taylor provide advice on how to tell the difference between antidepressant withdrawal and depression relapse.
How “Mental Health Awareness” Exploits Schoolchildren
Imagine being a parent at a meeting with educators to discuss Johnny's academics or behavior. Suddenly, your child’s teacher is telling you that he needs to see a doctor for an assessment of a suspected “mental disorder,” which usually leads to a prescription for medication. Warned of “the risks against failing to intervene,” you will likely acquiesce.
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.
Lexapro for Children: Drug With No Meaningful Benefit and Increased Suicidality Gets FDA Approval
Response and remission rates were the same in the drug versus placebo groups, and Lexapro increased suicidality sixfold.
Antidepressants Increase Suicide Attempts in Youth; No Preventative Effect
Researchers find that SSRIs increase suicide attempts up to age 24, and have no preventative effect at any age, even for those at high risk of suicide.