Systematic Review Finds Antidepressant Withdrawal Common and Potentially Long-lasting

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Prominent researchers conduct a review of antidepressant withdrawal incidence, duration, and severity. Results lead to call for new clinical guidelines.

New Data Show Lack of Efficacy for Antidepressants

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An article published this month in the journal BMC Psychiatry suggests that there is a lack of efficacy for SSRIs and that they significantly increase the risk of serious side effects.

The ADHD Drug Abuse Crisis on College Campuses

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The abuse of ADHD drugs on college campuses has reached epidemic proportions, according to the authors of a recent review in the journal of Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry. ADHD drugs, like Ritalin and Adderall, have become so commonplace on college campuses that students abusing these drugs for studying, weight loss and partying have underestimated their risks. As a result, we have seen exponential increases in emergency room visits, overdoses, and suicides by students taking these drugs.

Sociologist Explores the DSM-5’s Failed Attempt at Validity

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In a new article for the journal Social Science & Medicine, sociologist Owen Whooley investigates how the DSM-5 creators failed in their attempt to...

Underestimating Social Determinants of Health Linked to Right-Wing Authoritarianism

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Social determinants have been seen to have an equal, if not greater, influence on health as individual behaviors, yet this evidence is largely ignored. Researchers investigate why this is the case.

On the Myth of the Chemical Imbalance

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In this piece for Psychology Today, Mark L. Ruffalo critiques the chemical imbalance theory of mental disorder and examines why the chemical imbalance myth persists today despite...

Two-Thirds of Schizophrenia Patients Do Not Remit on Antipsychotics

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A new analysis of antipsychotic treatment of schizophrenia (published in Schizophrenia Bulletin) has found that two-thirds of patients treated this way do not experience symptom remission.

Journalists Should Report Their Sources’ Conflicts of Interest

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From HealthNewsReview.org: While researchers are usually required to disclose their conflicts of interest in medical journals, media outlets do not often require journalists to disclose...

SSRI Ineffective at Treating Depression in Individuals with Chronic Kidney Disease

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Dr. Madhukar Trivedi and colleagues find that the SSRI sertraline does not reduce depressive symptoms any more than placebo in people with Chronic Kidney Disease.

Researchers Call for Structural Competency in Psychiatry

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Structural competency in psychiatry emphasizes the social factors shaping patient presentations and encourages physician advocacy.

On Pharma, Corruption, and Psychiatric Drugs

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"My studies in this area lead me to a very uncomfortable conclusion: Our citizens would be far better off if we removed all the psychotropic drugs from the market, as doctors are unable to handle them. It is inescapable that their availability creates more harm than good." - Peter Gøtzsche, MD; Co-founder of the Cochrane Collaboration

Social Adversity and Crime Victimization Increase Risk of Psychotic Experiences Five Fold

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Researchers parse out factors within urbanicity that leads to risk for psychotic experiences.

Safety Analysis Weighs Harms and Benefits of Antipsychotic Drugs

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The researchers find that the drug effects for reducing psychosis are small and that treatment failure and severe side effects are common.

Popularity of Off-Label Antipsychotic Use Grows

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Fueled by aggressive marketing that hyped atypical antipsychotics as safe and effective for off-label uses, states an article in The Washington Post yesterday, sales of the drugs...

Antidepressant Use Linked to Longer, More Frequent Psychiatric Rehospitalization

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New study finds that antidepressants may negatively impact recovery after psychiatric hospitalization.

How Do Clients Solicit Medication Changes With Psychiatrists?

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Researchers examine psychiatrist-client interactions and find that clients are often left with few opportunities to make explicit requests to change their medication regimen.

Danish Study Finds Better 10-year Outcomes in Patients Off Antipsychotics

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Study finds that 74% of patients with a psychotic disorder off antipsychotics at end of 10 years are in remission.

ADHD Drugs Linked to Psychotic Symptoms in Children

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Stimulant medications like Ritalin and Adderall, often prescribed to treat children diagnosed with ADHD, are known to cause hallucinations and psychotic symptoms. Until recently these adverse effects were considered to be rare. A new study to be published in the January issue of Pediatrics challenges this belief, however, and finds that many more children may be experiencing psychotic symptoms as a result of these drugs than previously acknowledged.

“Bayer and Monsanto: A Marriage Made in Hell”

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For CounterPunch, Martha Rosenberg and Ronnie Cummins comment on the announcement that Bayer has placed a bid to buy Monsanto. “Bayer and Monsanto both...

Interview: Researchers Deconstruct Ghostwritten Industry Trial for Antidepressant

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Researchers, Jon Jureidini, Jay Amsterdam and Leemon McHenry, have taken a closer look at the data from a randomized control trial of citalopram (Celexa) that was ghostwritten and then used by the manufacturers to support claims of the drug’s efficacy and safety in the treatment of child and adolescent depression. To get the background on this story, we connected with Dr. Leemon McHenry, an investigator in this study and a lecturer in philosophy at California State University, Northridge.

It is Time to Abandon the Candidate-Gene Approach to Depression

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The candidate-gene approach to depression goes unsupported and is likely based on bad science, new research finds.

Psychiatrists Still Promoting Low-Serotonin Theory of Depression

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-A psychiatrist asserts that psychiatrists and pharmaceutical companies never promoted the idea that serotonin deficiencies could cause depression, and suggests that no one at Mad in America has evidence that they did.

Researchers Critique WHO Mental Health Technology

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Researchers critically examine the underlying assumptions and implications of a new WHO mental health technology designed to streamline psychiatric assessment internationally.

Pharmacology Gets More Cooperation Than Psychosocial Advice

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In a study of conformance to evidence-based treatment recommendations at mental health clinics among people diagnosed with schizophrenia, Canadian researchers found that conformance to...

Adderall Use Associated with Increased Risk of Psychosis

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Twice as many teenagers with ADHD experienced severe psychosis when taking Adderall, as compared to Ritalin, according to a new study.