Mental Health & Our Schools, Part 2
Schools are rolling out programs and services intended to safeguard students’ emotional well-being. They are full of potential—and pitfalls.
Defund Social Workers: Cops by Another Name
From The New Republic: If you measure in terms of the power to coerce, surveil, and inflict lasting harm, social workers are, thanks to the nature of the job, cops by another name.
‘Speaking Grief’ Documentary Asks, ‘What if We Got Better at Grief?’
From WPSU Creative Services: What would happen if we could speak the truth about our pain, and hear the truth about other people's pain? What if we got better at grief?
In Andrew’s Honor: Attorney Elizabeth Rich’s Fight Against Unjust Commitments
Anyone detained and then formally committed under Wisconsin’s civil mental health laws can initially be held and forcibly drugged for six long months. Yet, for years, not a single person has been able to appeal the six-month commitments in court.
A Return to Dignity from Psychiatric and Childhood Abuse
Homebirth was a reflection of how the mental health system should work: Informed person-centered care while respecting your agency.
What Video Games Can Teach Us About Effective Parenting
There is a secret to the programming of these games that seems to stir children to a level of greatness. Fortunately, that magic is completely transposable to our interactions with them.
Dramatic Decline in California’s Use of Antipsychotic Drugs on Its Foster Children
From The Imprint: Youth and Family News: A new study indicates statewide reforms have freed thousands of abused and neglected children from the lasting effects of the most powerful psychiatric drugs, but concerns about other medications persist.
#RestoreTheirRights: An Update on Guardianship Action
It’s time to change the conversation around guardianship. The question is not “When do we remove someone’s rights?” but “How can we best support them?”
Some Schools Bringing Back Corporal Punishment; Parents Opt In as Students Protest
From TODAY: "Corporal punishment signals to the child that a way to settle interpersonal conflicts is to use physical force and inflict pain," said the American Academy of Pediatrics in a 2014 statement.
Child Frustration Breeds Race Hatred; Columbia Scientist Finds Punishment of Baby Is Seed of...
From Project NoSpank/The New York Times, December 22, 1940: The aggressiveness which adults exhibit, said Dr. Ashley Montagu, is originally produced during childhood by parents, teachers, nurses, or whoever else participates in the process of socializing the child.
The NY Times Suddenly Discovered We’re Giving Kids Dangerous Drugs
From the New York Post: The New York Times' splashy story about the overmedication of children was 20 years too late. Why does obvious damage to children go ignored for so long?
Call for Teen Art in All Media!
MIA's Family Resources and Arts sections are co-sponsoring an online teen multimedia art exhibition with the theme “Beyond Labels and Meds: What It Feels Like to Be Me.”
This Teen Was Prescribed 10 Psychiatric Drugs. She’s Not Alone.
From The New York Times: The problem of multiple medication use, or polypharmacy, that first emerged a decade ago among young people in foster care and low-income settings, has now gone mainstream.
Beyond Drugs: The Universal Experience of Addiction | Gabor Maté, MD
From drgabormate.com: Most addicted people use no drugs at all, and addiction cannot be understood if we restrict our vision of it to substances, legal or illicit.
Mad Parenting: On Becoming an Unlikely Family Man
I’ve often been told I shouldn’t have kids because I’m “bipolar.” But since my twins’ birth, I’ve been way more stable than I thought I would be, and I’ve found what I’ve always been looking for.
Some Antidepressants, Antipsychotics May Make Heatwaves Challenging
From the BBC: Evidence suggests these medications can hinder the body from regulating temperature properly, cause people to sweat excessively, not register thirst or make skin more sensitive to sun.
If We Knew What We Know Now
I never questioned the adults around me or wondered if the medications were necessary. Of course they were necessary. A doctor said so.
New Narrative Game Raises Awareness of ACEs & Their Impact on Youth Mental Health
From iThrive Games: Children of the Flame was created by youth designers at the SEED (System-Educated Expert Disrupters) Institute to raise awareness of trauma and trauma-informed practices.
Ken Burns’ “Hiding in Plain Sight…”: Candid Interviews, Canned Conclusions
I was hoping for more accurate representation of youth mental health challenges. What I saw instead was a glossy patchwork of mixed messages.
Ending Child Abuse: The Next Spiritual Revolution
From Bryan Eden/alice-miller.com: Humanity’s progress toward peace, love, prosperity and happiness is being held captive by an invisible plague of cruelty and violence.
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.
Catherine’s Story: A Child Lost to Psychiatry
A year ago today, our youngest child died, thanks to the adversarial actions and toxic treatments foisted on her by medical-model psychiatry. By telling her story, we hope to promote systemic change.
What Is ‘Schizophrenia’? Common Myths and Misconceptions
From The Mirror: Even though one in 100 adults in England lives with a 'schizophrenia diagnosis,' the condition continues to be surrounded by myths and misconceptions.
Mass Shootings and the News Media: Catching Up to the Science of PACEs
From ACEs Too High: Over the last 25 years, the main development that has changed our understanding of violence is the CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences Study.
Mindfulness in Schools Does Not Improve Mental Health, Study Finds
From The Guardian: Students who engaged with the meditation practice benefitted but many were bored by it, say researchers in the UK.
