Psychedelics and Depression
The Sunday New York Times Magazine special edition, "Health is All in Our Minds," explores the use of psychedelic drugs to help people cope...
SSRIs Cause Delayed Head Growth and Premature Birth
In a study of 7,696 pregnant women, researchers in the Netherlands and the U.S. found that SSRIs caused slower head growth and premature birth....
School-Based Mindfulness Leads to Stress Reduction, Study Finds
Researchers find improvements in stress-related outcomes among middle school students exposed to a school-based mindfulness training program.
‘Do Antidepressants Work?’ is the Wrong Question
“This research points to the inadequacy of asking the simple question: ‘Do antidepressants work?’ Instead, the value or otherwise of antidepressants needs to be understood in the context of the diversity of experience and the particular meaning they hold in people’s lives.”
Pain Increases Later Risk for Anxiety and Depression
Experiencing moderate to severe pain, or having at least moderate life interference from pain, doubles risk for anxiety or depression.
Freud in the Scanner: A Revival of Interest in Introspection
From Aeon: For the past several decades, mainstream mental health professionals as well as the general public have dismissed Freud's ideas, turning instead to neuroscience...
NYPD Whistleblower Fights Forced Hospitalization
The Village Voice reports this week on NYPD whistleblower Adrian Schoolcraft's two-year fight for justice after high-ranking NYPD officials illegally removed him from his house and had...
Rising Prescriptions, Rising Disability: Video from the UK Parliament
Mental health campaigner Chrys Muirhead’s blog features video from the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Prescribed Drug Dependence event on 11 May 2016 at Westminster....
Hospital Website Health Care Information May Not Be Reliable
An investigation found that many US hospital websites were more like advertising outlets than educational portals.
Many are Depressed Because They’re Expected not to be
From The Conversation: New studies suggest that Western cultural values - specifically the high value we place on happiness - may be the reason that...
Antipsychotics Increase Risk of Heart Attack in the Elderly
In a study of 10,969 older patients treated with antipsychotics in Quebec, Canada, researchers found a 2.19 times greater risk of heart attack in...
Nature Neuroscience Dedicates Special Issue to Big Data Efforts
The November issue of Nature Neuroscience is focused on discussions of "big data" initiatives for mapping the brain, finding genetic clues to psychology questions,...
Peer Support Reduces Chances of Psychiatric Readmission
A randomized control trial finds that receiving peer support from individuals with similar lived experiences reduces one’s risk of readmission to an acute crisis unit.
Alan Dershowitz Will Work With Justina Pelletier’s Family on “Broader Constitutional Issues”
Harvard Law professor (emeritus) Alan Dershowitz will represent Justina Pelletier in her family's fight to regain custody from the state of Massachusetts and Boston...
Youth-Nominated Social Support Reduces Mortality for Suicidal Adolescents
The Youth-Nominated Support Team intervention invites adolescents to select adults in their life to receive training on how to support them.
Antipsychotic Drugs and the Risk of Hyperglycemia in Older Adults Without Diabetes: A Population-Based...
Objective: To determine whether current antipsychotic use among older persons without diabetes is associated with a higher risk of hospital visits for hyperglycemia, as...
High Rates of Questionable Research Practices Found in Ecology and Evolution
A new study, published online by the Open Science Foundation, suggests that questionable research practices (QRPs) are prevalent in the fields of ecology and evolution.
Illinois Rep. Calls for Task Force to Investigate “False Epidemics” and Psychotropic Drugs
Rep. Mary Flowers (D-Chicago) has introduced a resolution to the Illinois House of Representatives calling for a 'Task Force on Mental Diagnosis and Illinois...
Former Duke Psychiatry Chair Calls for BMJ to Retract Article about Antidepressant Black Box...
A former Duke University psychiatry chair is calling for a retraction of a study suggesting that the FDA's black-box warnings about increased suicidality in youth taking SSRIs led to increases in adolescent suicide attempts.
Psychiatrists and Psychologists Not Reliable Expert Witnesses
Psychiatrists and psychologists who work as expert witnesses for the courts are generally no more scientifically knowledgeable or accurate about issues that involve human...
California Foster Care Physicians Taking Double the Average in Pharma Money
Drug companies spent over $14 million from 2010 to 2013 to "woo" California doctors who specialize in treating foster children, according to part three...
Antidepressant-linked Suicide Data Doctored In Seminal Study
Several years after the information was first revealed, a published study has shown how an influential NIMH study doctored the real data about antidepressants and suicidal events in youth.
Anxiety and the Severity of Mania
Researchers from Spain, noting that "anxiety has scarcely been studied in acute mania," analyzed data from 242 patients admitted for a diagnosis of acute...
“Why did Thalidomide’s Makers Ignore Warnings About Their Drug?”
Sociologist Garry Gray examines the institutional pressures and systemic failings that allow unsafe drugs to hit the market. “Research integrity and the institutional structures that support scientific research are key to understanding and eliminating scientific compromises. Without this understanding, we can’t truly progress beyond the 'Grünenthal science' that underscored the thalidomide tragedy.”
“Helping Others Dampens the Effects of Everyday Stress”
"The holiday season can be a very stressful time, so think about giving directions, asking someone if they need help, or holding that elevator...
