3D render of placebo pills isolated over wood background

Placebo Effect—Not Antidepressants—Responsible for Depression Improvement

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In adolescent depression treatment, those who received a placebo but thought they received Prozac improved more than those who received the drug and knew it.

Q&A: My Child Is Self-Harming. How Can I Help?

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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?

Lexapro for Children: Drug With No Meaningful Benefit and Increased Suicidality Gets FDA Approval

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Response and remission rates were the same in the drug versus placebo groups, and Lexapro increased suicidality sixfold.
A painting depicting clouds with lightning over the sea at sunset

Breaking the Cycle: How I Overcame Intergenerational Trauma and Became a Peer Advocate

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How did that young Puerto Rican girl who very much disliked seeing a therapist when locked up in the juvenile system end up working in the mental health field as an adult?

Giving Caregivers a Platform: Sherita, Mother of Tony

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This is the story of Sherita and her son Tony, and her efforts to help him following years of psychiatric drugs and hospitalizations.

Making Mental Health an Ongoing Priority:  A Patch Adams Approach

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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.

Challenging Western-Centric Child Psychology: An Interview with Nandita Chaudhary

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Ayurdhi Dhar interviews Nandita Chaudhary about children’s lives across cultures, the problems with global aid agencies and their interventions, psychology’s bias in the study of children, the limits of attachment theory and more.

For Native People, the Past is Present: David Edward Walker on Oppressive Mental Health...

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David Edward Walker is the author of Coyote’s Swing: A Memoir and Critique of Mental Hygiene in Native America, which was published in February...
Artwork magazine collage picture of shocked guy running away eyes control isolated drawing background.

Students Don’t Need Spying, They Need Trust

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Surveillance exacerbates anxiety, destroys trust in relationships, and diverts money away from effective treatment.

In Memory of Sandra Escher, Pioneer on Voice-Hearing

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Sandra Escher, who helped create a foundation for the Hearing Voices movement, recently passed away. She was the first researcher in the field of children who hear voices.

How to Advocate Effectively for Loved Ones Harmed by Psychiatric Drugs

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An advocate in the psychiatric realm is a key witness for the patient and his or her experience, and carries a weight that the doctor cannot easily ignore.

Reality According to Whom? Listening to My Wife—and The Problems with ‘Psychosis’

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Sam Ruck shares an excerpt from his book "Healing Companions," which describes his life with, and love for, his wife and her “alters.” 

ADHD Diagnosis Leads to Worse Quality of Life, Increased Self-Harm in Kids

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When comparing kids with the same symptoms who were either diagnosed with ADHD or not, those who received the diagnosis had worse outcomes.
Needle about to pop a green balloon

One Flew Over the Scientific Consensus’ Nest—The Story of Dr. Ophir and ADHD

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The backlash against Dr. Yaakov Ophir, licensed clinical psychologist and promising scholar, began when he reported his findings about the scientific validity of ADHD.

Chemicals Have Consequences—Antidepressants and Pregnancy: An Interview With Adam Urato, MD

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Adam joins us to discuss what we do and don’t know about the effects of antidepressants on babies and mothers and the importance of counselling in order to aid families in making important decisions about pharmaceutical drug use.
ADHD

Parenting Changed My Perspective on “ADHD”

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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.
Photo of pregnant person holding a glass of water and a handful of pills. Sitting cross-legged on couch. We cannot see her face.

Dubious Science: Downplaying the Risks of Antidepressants in Pregnancy

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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.

The Birth of The “Just Stop It” Movement: A Family’s Journey Through Mental Health...

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Will was plunged into an extreme state following exposure to a synthetic street drug, which led to repeat hospitalizations and psych drugs.
An older man holds his hands together obscuring his face, head dropped in sadness

Elder Eyes Wide Shut

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There is no universal moral code: Elder law and the injustice and inhumane practice of legal guardianship are a calculated effort by the court, the attorneys, and the healthcare system.

Abused by Psychiatrists After a BPD Misdiagnosis

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If you don't realize that you are autistic, your intellectual, sensory, social, and emotional differences are a mystery, even to you.

‘It Was a Joint Effort’: Deborah Kasdan on Bringing Her Late Sister’s Story to...

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Author Deborah Kasdan discusses her memoir of her late sister, "Roll Back The World."
Top View of Girl Sits on Bed with Scattered Pills. Little Child Sitting on Gray Badcover Near Opened Packing of Medicines Keeps Head with Hands. Unhappy Childhood Concept

Antidepressants Increase Suicide Attempts in Youth; No Preventative Effect

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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.

ADHD Drugs Linked to Psychosis and Mania

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In one analysis, those on a high dose of prescription amphetamines were more than 13 times more likely to develop psychosis/mania.
Woman trapped in a glass

The Sins of Conservatorship: Why Britney Spears Compared It to Slavery

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For the last three years of my mother’s life, she was under absolute control of her conservator. If we dared to object to the neglect or abuse, retaliation was certain.
A woman's head is silhouetted with the sunset over the water

Beyond Psychiatry: A Trauma-Centric View of Mental Health

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Internal family systems therapy is a non-pathologizing method of working toward healing from trauma, a journey of returning to wholeness by reconnecting with ourselves.