Hallucinations Reported as Side Effect of ADHD Medication

10
Hallucinations and other psychotic symptoms have been reported after methylphenidate (Ritalin) treatment for ADHD.

Research Emphasizes Association Between Inflammation, Diet, and Depression

16
Study finds adults with a pro-inflammatory diet have a greater incidence of depression.

Call to Monitor Adverse Effects of Antipsychotics in Youth

11
Researchers point to the risks of using antipsychotics with youth and caution against the practice.
suicide attempter attempt survivor

Hegemonic Sanity and Suicide

19
The “good” suicide attempt survivor wakes up in a hospital bed bathed in beautiful natural light, surrounded by the people who love them most, and they realize that their thinking was flawed and all those unsolvable problems can actually be solved if they are just compliant with medication and therapy. And then there's the “bad” suicide attempter who is angry that they lived, who challenges the status quo.

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

31
Researchers parse out factors within urbanicity that leads to risk for psychotic experiences.

Researcher Critiques Misleading Media Coverage of Lancet Antidepressant Meta-Analysis

17
The BMJ’s clinical editor takes issue with uncritical media coverage of antidepressant network meta-analysis, outlining reporting missteps.

Psychologist Debunks Common Misconceptions of Maslow’s Hierarchy

9
Utilizing Maslow’s published books and essays, psychologist William Compton delineates common myths and attempts to respond to them.

Psychotherapy is Less Effective and Less Accessible for Those in Poverty

13
A special issue explores the connection between poverty, mental health, and psychotherapy.
personality test

This Is Your Personality Test Result On Capitalism

3
Personality tests function for an employer, intentionally or otherwise, much like diagnostic criteria function for the mental-health system: these labels determine who gets resources that capitalism itself makes scarce — not only basic necessities like food, clothing and shelter, which require money to obtain, but empathy, understanding and support, which are kept in short supply.

ISPS Australia’s Response to Schizophrenia Awareness Week: Drop the Label!

83
It really is time to drop the label of schizophrenia, and ISPS Australia invites us to consider just that, in favour of understanding human experience and removing the impediments to a person making sense of their experience — impediments that exist due to the primarily biomedical perspectives that continue to dominate the mental health systems.
escaping cage of mental illness

Towards the Re-politicization of “Mental Illness”

172
In the models of other social movements, I implore us to advance a multifaceted, structural, cultural, and political analysis of mental illness in America, to illuminate the reality and mechanisms of sanism, and to then envision and implement ways of organizing American life around it that do not limit our potential for flourishing so drastically.
integrity

Questioning the Integrity of Psychiatry

79
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists claimed that “the prescription of antidepressant or antipsychotic medications is something that a psychiatrist only ever does in partnership with the patient and after due consideration of the risks and benefits.” How could a responsible professional body make an assertion so patently wrong?
UN meeting on human rights in mental health

UN Meeting on Human Rights in Mental Health: A Response

42
On May 14 and 15, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights held a meeting on human rights in mental health. The event represented tensions in the United Nations between the promotion of mental health and the promotion of the human rights of people with psychosocial disabilities under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Researchers Advocate for More Robust Informed Consent in Psychotherapy

8
Paper outlines recommendations for more thorough informed consent process in psychotherapy, which authors proclaim is an “ethical imperative."

Therapists Collaborate with Clients through Metatherapeutic Communication

9
Researchers develop an initial framework for understanding metatherapeutic communication practices that may inform future integration of collaboration in psychotherapy.
united states court of appeals

ECT Shock Treatment Class Action – Case Update April 2018

20
In March, 2018, the Court issued an Order denying class certification in the case filed against the manufacturers of ECT shock devices. Attorneys for the ECT victims strongly disagree with the Court's assessment, and have now petitioned the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for permission to appeal the ruling denying class certification.
supposedly psychiatric meds save lives

“Psychiatric Meds Saved Your Life,” and Mine

84
It's not about whether it's right or wrong, true or false that psychiatric drugs save lives. It's about telling the stories that aren't being told. That's why psychiatric drugs saved my life after they destroyed my health and nearly killed me. They gave me something I care about and am passionate about writing about. They gave me a pathway to bring healing to others.
The Other Mrs. Smith

Book Review: The Other Mrs. Smith by Bonnie Burstow

45
In The Other Mrs. Smith, Dr. Burstow chose to use the fiction format, presumably because she felt it was the best way for readers to understand what it is like to experience electroshock and deal with the aftermath of massive memory loss. In this she succeeds spectacularly.

Scientists Fight Against the Myth of the Normal or Optimal Brain

15
A new study out of Yale University uses evolutionary biology to debunk the idea that there is a “normal” or “optimal” brain.
psychiatric abuse

“How Long a Time”: Ten Cold Hard Truths For Ending Psychiatric Abuse

155
Here are the Ten Cold Hard Truths we must ALL confront in our organizing efforts. If we fail to understand and grasp these truths we will ALL be susceptible to “burnout” and/or a slide into dead-end reformist type strategies that will only derail our efforts to reach the day when we can truly end all forms of psychiatric abuse.

The Concerned Parents’ Project: 31 Questions

3
The Concerned Parents’ Project grew out of the idea that there may be parents out there who are confused and bewildered by the mixed messages on what it is to have normal and healthy childhood experiences. We posted a new question and answer for parents each day in March.
freedom

10 Things I Learned in 5 Years Consulting With People Coming Off Psych Drugs

26
It's been over 5 years since I started offering non-medical consultations to people in the process of coming off or hoping to come off psych drugs. I wanted to share here some things I have learned in this process. Despite how far we have come, we have a long way to go in the quest to liberate all who wish to be liberated from psychiatry.

Researchers Challenge Industry-Friendly Depression Guideline

13
Review of a new mixed depression guideline reveals financial bias of guideline developers and lack of evidence supporting recommendations for prescribing of antipsychotics.

Should We Screen for Adverse Childhood Experiences?

29
One author outlines the foundations of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) research, addressing its dimensions, limitations, and potential future directions.

Study Examines the Difficulty of Withdrawing from Antidepressant Drugs

14
Correcting unnecessary long-term antidepressant use is difficult and met with apprehension by providers and service-users.