Did You Ever Stop Taking Antipsychotics? ā World Survey on Withdrawal
Antipsychotics are big business, professionals are often at a loss as to how to help people going through disturbing experiences, the voices of patients are crowded out of the equation ā there are many reasons for the lack of real education and informed consent around antipsychotics. To address this gap in knowledge, we launched a world study on antipsychotic medication withdrawal.
Call to Monitor Adverse Effects of Antipsychotics in Youth
Researchers point to the risks of using antipsychotics with youth and caution against the practice.
Study Shows Success With Reduced Antipsychotic Use
People who reduced antipsychotic use by tapering were doing just as well after five years as those who continued using the drugs.
Study Reduces Over-prescription of Antipsychotics in Older Adults
New intervention shows promise in reducing over-prescription of off-label antipsychotics in older adults.
What Are Best Practices For Psychosis And What Gets In The Way?
Research investigates cliniciansā perspectives on best care practices and the complicated realities of providing care in the face of agency limitations and mechanized interventions.
New Research Suggests Brain Abnormalities in āSchizophreniaā May Result From Antipsychotics
Study finds that reduced cortical thickness and brain surface area associated with 'schizophrenia' may result from antipsychotic drug use.
Poor and Foster Care Children More Likely to be Diagnosed and Treated with Psychiatric...
Study details Medicaid-insured birth cohortās exposure to psychiatric medications and mental health services.
FDA Defends Decision to Approve Digital Aripiprazole
Members of the U.S. Food and Drug Administrationās Psychiatry Products division go on the defensive in a new article, responding to concerns about the agencyās approval of digital aripiprazole.
Randomized Controlled Trials of Psychiatric Drugs Tell of Harm Done
The most important data in an RCT is not whether the drug provides a statistically significant benefit over placebo. The most important data is the ānumber needed to treatā calculation (NNT). ForĀ the personĀ considering taking an antidepressant or an antipsychotic, the NNT data providesĀ the āmathāĀ needed to weigh the potential benefit of taking the drug against the potential harm of doing so.
Mental Health Industry Should Embrace Choices Beyond Drugs
In this video forĀ NowThis, Yana Jacobs critiques the mental health industry standard of prescribing drugs as the first-line treatment for "mental illness." She emphasizes...
Medical Malpractice Verdict Seen as Powerful Message
FromĀ PR Newswire: On May 16th, a $2 million verdict was issued in favor of Stanley and Marianne Truskie, whose son died from toxic levels...
The Sound of Madness
From Harper's Magazine:Ā People who hear positive, encouraging voices often seen as spiritual guides or messages andĀ people diagnosed with schizophrenia are usually thought of as...
The Never-Ending Misuse of Antipsychotics in Nursing Homes
FromĀ Health Affairs: Although the problem of antipsychotic misuse in nursing homes has been raised to policymakers numerous times over the past six decades, the...
Antipsychotics Said to Lower Mortality and Relapse Rates Over Long Term
In a recently published study, researchers concluded that first-episode schizophrenia patients who take antipsychotics continuously have lower mortality and lower risk ofĀ being rehospitalized than those who discontinue the drugs. Joanna Moncrieff and Sandy Steingard investigate the findings.
A Commentary on the Finnish Analysis of Outcomes of First Episode Schizophrenia
There are a number of well-recognised problems with this sort of study and we should be very cautious about accepting its conclusions at face value. The main problem is that it is anĀ āobservationalā study, not aĀ randomised controlled trial, and these analyses can be seriously misleading.Ā
20-year Outcomes for First-episode Psychosis: Impact of Neuroleptic Drug Discontinuation
The authors conclude that the risk of treatment failure or relapse after discontinuation of antipsychotics does not decrease during the first eight years of illness, and that long-term antipsychotic treatment is associated with increased survival. This is a sobering finding and the paper warrants careful review.
Social Support Improves Antipsychotic Discontinuation, Study Finds
A new study explores how people manage to discontinue antipsychotic medication and examines how social supports may improve outcomes.
Effort to Tackle Overuse of Antipsychotics in Older Adults Backfires
A partnership designed to decrease antipsychotic use in elderly patients may have led to increased use of medications with even worse risk/benefit profiles.
Popular Drug Reveals the Issue of “Off-Label” Use
FromĀ The Washington Post: Despite major lawsuits and detailed reports pertaining to severe health risks associated with the antipsychotic Seroquel, the drug remains one of...
The Elephant in the Room
FromĀ Discursive of Tunbridge Wells: Psychologist Rufus May speaks about the often overlooked role of racism in the mental health system. People of color are...
Existential Therapy Assists Patients Withdrawing From Psychiatric Drugs
Confronting existential anxiety through āBasal Exposure Therapyā shows promising results in people withdrawing from psychotropic drugs.
Mental Health Patients Overlooked in Compulsory Treatment
FromĀ The Sydney Morning Herald: A new review found that mental health patients' decision-making capacity is very rarely considered in court rulings on involuntary treatment.
"The...
A Tale of Two Studies
With increasing evidence that psychiatric drugs do more harm than good over the long term, the field of psychiatry often seems focused on sifting through the mounds of research data it has collected, eager to at last sit up and cry, hereās a shiny speck of gold! Our drugs do work! One recently published study on withdrawal of antipsychotics tells of long-term benefits. A second tells of long-term harm. Which one is convincing?
Medicine Can Soothe a Troubled Mind, but Not Without Costs
FromĀ The New York Times: In a new book,Ā Blue Dreams, psychologist and patient Lauren Slater critiques the drug-based model of psychiatric care, debunking the chemical...
Two Who Died in Psychiatric Hospitals Were Improperly Medicated
FromĀ The Boston Globe: According to a new report from the Disability Law Center in Boston, two patients who died at Arbour Health System psychiatric...