Research News

Summaries of research findings that tell of a scientific need to "rethink psychiatry."

“I Found My Lion’s Roar”: Ro Speight on Combining Peer Support and Open Dialogue

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MIA's Ana Florence interviews recovery advocate Ro Speight about her journey from receiving Peer Support to working as a facilitator in Peer Partnered Open Dialogue.

Tapering Strips Help People Stop Using Antidepressants, Study Finds

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A new study by Peter Groot and Jim van Os investigated whether tapering strips can help people stop using antidepressants.

Very Slow Taper Best for Antipsychotic Discontinuation

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An article in JAMA Psychiatry advises very slow tapering for best results when discontinuing antipsychotic drugs.

Psychiatry and the Selves We Might Become: An Interview with Sociologist Nikolas Rose

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MIA’s Ayurdhi Dhar interviews the well-known sociologist of medicine, Nikolas Rose, about the role psychiatry plays in shaping how we manage ourselves and our world.

Antipsychotics Associated with Severe COVID-19 and Fatal Outcomes

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A new study has found a strong association between antipsychotic drugs and higher rates of severe cases of COVID-19.

Strategies for Tapering and Discontinuing Antidepressants

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A new review of strategies to support both patients and practitioners through the process of discontinuing antidepressants.

How to Know What We Don’t Know: An Interview with Psychologist and Novelist Jussi...

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MIA's Gavin Crowell-Williamson interviews the neuropsychologist and novelist Jussi Valtonen about how novels can lead us to see the limits of our understanding.

Service-User Knowledge Helps Researchers Develop Psychiatric Drug Tapering Approaches

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New strategies for tapering psychiatric drugs achieved by acknowledging withdrawal symptoms and valuing service-users’ first-hand knowledge.

Mental Health and Emotion in the Digital Age: An Interview with Ian Tucker

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MIA's Tim Beck interviews psychologist Ian Tucker about the relationships between digital technologies, emotion, and mental health.

For People “At Risk for Psychosis,” Antipsychotics Associated with Worse Outcomes

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Researchers studied whether antipsychotics could prevent transition to full psychosis and found that the drugs worsened outcomes.

Randomized Controlled Trial Confirms That Antipsychotics Damage the Brain

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A new study published in JAMA Psychiatry connects antipsychotics with damage to the brain in multiple areas.

Bridging Critical and Conceptual Psychiatry: An Interview with Awais Aftab

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MIA’s Justin Karter interviews psychiatrist Awais Aftab about how “conceptual competence” uses philosophy to transform psychiatry.

Youth Antidepressant Use Associated With Increased Suicide and Self-Harm

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National data on rates of youth antidepressant prescription, suicide, and self-harm in Australia sparks public health debate about drug safety.

Study Finds SSRIs Associated with Increased Risk for Violent Crime

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Study finds an apparent connection between SSRIs, the most commonly prescribed type of antidepressant, and increased risk of violent crime.

JAMA Psychiatry Retracts Antidepressant Study

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Once an appropriate statistical method was used, the study findings were “no longer valid,” according to the editors of JAMA and JAMA Psychiatry.

Exercise for Youth Mental Health in the Lockdown: Interview with Psychologist Scott Greenspan

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School Psychologist Scott Greenspan discusses how to promote exercise and mental wellbeing for adolescents stuck indoors during the pandemic.

Review Documents Severe Withdrawal Effects of Psychiatric Drugs

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Researchers find that most psychiatric drugs cause severe withdrawal despite attempt s to gradually decrease the dosage.

New Analysis: Antidepressants Still Linked to Suicide

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“This is remarkable for drugs that are used to treat depressive symptoms,” write the researchers.

Bringing Human Rights to Mental Health Care: An Interview with UN Envoy Dainius Pūras

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MIA's Ana Florence interviews United Nations Special Rapporteur Dainius Pūras about his own journey as a psychiatrist and the future of rights-based approaches to mental health.

New Algorithms Fail to Predict Antidepressant Treatment Outcomes

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Researchers suggest that because most antidepressant “success” is due to the placebo effect, they may never find a way to predict outcomes.

No Good Evidence That Antidepressants Prevent Relapse

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Trials of antidepressants for relapse prevention are confounded by withdrawal effects caused by the drugs.

When Psychology Speaks for You, Without You: Sunil Bhatia on Decolonizing Psychology

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MIA’s Ayurdhi Dhar interviews Sunil Bhatia about decolonizing psychology, confronting the field’s racist past, colonial foundations, and neoliberal present.

Neuropsychological Tests Reveal Consequences of Polypharmacy

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Neuropsychological assessments reveal the cognitive, occupational, and social impact of polypharmacy in psychiatry.

Antidepressant Misinformation Promoted on Popular Websites

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A new study indicates that popular online resources do not accurately present the scientific evidence on the risks and benefits of antidepressants.

Where Western Medicine Meets Indigenous Healing: An Interview with Anthropologist Ian Puppe

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MIA's Micah Ingle interviews the anthropologist Ian Puppe on how the imposition of psychiatric treatments can lead to harmful iatrogenic effects with Indigenous peoples.