Tag: Mad in America

Mad in America’s 10 Most Popular Articles in 2023

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A roundup of Mad in America's most read blogs and personal stories of 2023 as chosen by our readers.

Robert Whitaker Answers Reader Questions on Mad in America, the Biopsychosocial...

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On the Mad in America podcast this week we have Robert Whitaker with us to answer questions sent in by readers and listeners.

Mad in America’s 10 Most Popular Articles in 2022

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A roundup of Mad in America's most read blogs and personal stories of 2022 as chosen by our readers.

Ten Years of Rocking the Boat: Reflecting on Mad in America’s...

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Continuing our 200th podcast, staff members join us to discuss reinvigorating MIA continuing education, science writing and blogs, personal stories, community commenting and family resources.

Changing Narratives: Reflecting on Mad in America’s Mission and Work

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For our 200th podcast interview, we are joined by members of MIA staff to reflect on Mad in America's mission and work over the last decade.

A Conversation with Nev Jones

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A dialogue between Nev Jones and Sandy Steingard about Mad in America, critics of psychiatry, medication for psychosis, Open Dialogue, and the need for racial and class justice.

VICE, MIA and The Movement Against Psychiatry

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The Vice article was presented as an exploration of the “movement against psychiatry,” and yet you can see, once it is deconstructed, how it told a story that surely pleased the promoters of the conventional narrative, and put the “critics” on the defensive at almost every turn.

A Positive Change for Mad in America Continuing Education

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We are going to organize webinar events, starting this fall, that will be easier to register for (sign-up on Zoom), free (donations will be accepted), and often feature two or more speakers (or a panel), with more time devoted to an interaction with the audience.

Mad in America: 2018 by the Numbers

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As 2019 begins, we at Mad in America are looking forward to continuing to broaden our efforts to provide informational and educational resources that will help our society "rethink psychiatry." The start of the New Year also provides us with an opportunity to look back and tally up our efforts in 2018.

Thar’s A New Sheriff in Town!

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As a longtime participant in the conversations here on Mad in America, I’m very excited about taking on the role of moderator for the MIA discussion boards. MIA considers the community discussions to be integral to its mission to serve as a forum for “rethinking psychiatry,” and I am assuming this role at a time that the organization, in response to the reader survey we conducted, is striving to make the discussions more welcoming to all.

Results of the 2018 Mad in America Reader Survey

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In June 2018, we ran our first ever reader survey. The purpose of the survey was to gain feedback on what you, our readers, want to read and thus provide helpful suggestions for future content. This update provides a brief review of the results of the survey so far and outlines what actions we will take in response. Thank you to all who responded for taking the time to tell us how you feel about Mad in America.

Kermit Cole: Dialogical Approaches to Extreme States

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Kermit Cole tells of his experiences of supporting those in extreme states and his thoughts on Open Dialogue and dialogical approaches in general.

MIA RADIO: Expanding the Audience for “Critical Psychiatry” Perspectives

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We are now launching a new effort, one that has us excited about its possibilities. MIA Radio will begin airing podcasts on July 1. We will be both producing our own MIA podcasts and serving as a host for independently produced critical psychiatry podcasts.

Update: Massachusetts Benzodiazepine Bill Hearing

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The hearing for Bill H4062: Informed Consent for Benzodiazepines and Non-benzodiazepine Hypnotics took place on Monday – in the middle of an April snowstorm! The discussion clarified some important points in the legislation and gave survivors an opportunity to tell their stories. I was so proud to be there and witness the courage, camaraderie, resilience, advocacy, and vulnerability of fellow survivors. This legislation is our chance to be heard. As one survivor said, through tears, to the committee, “Do not let my suffering be in vain. I beg you to pass this bill.”

Timberrr! Psychiatry’s Evidence Base For Antipsychotics Comes Crashing to the Ground

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When I wrote Anatomy of an Epidemic, one of my foremost hopes was that it would prompt mainstream researchers to revisit the scientific literature. Was there evidence that any class of psychiatric medications—antipsychotics, antidepressants, stimulants, benzodiazepines, and so forth—provided a long-term benefit? Now epidemiologists at Columbia University and City College of New York have reported that they have done such an investigation about antipsychotics, and their bottom-line finding can be summed up in this way: Psychiatry’s “evidence base” for long-term use of these drugs does not exist.

“Mental Illness”, the DSM-5, and Dreams for a Post-Psychiatry World

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If, a little over three years ago, you asked me who I was, my one and only answer would have been, “Bipolar.”  It was the word that defined me, that explained my emotions and behaviors, that gave me answers to the questions, Why am I so unhappy?  Why do I want to die every day?  Why is it so hard to get out of bed in the morning, to shower and brush my teeth and leave the house and interact with the world?  Why do I find it impossible to keep a job, a relationship, a responsibility?  Why do I never feel OK?

A Challenge to “I Am Adam Lanza’s Mother”

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As I write these words on a Monday evening, my spirit aches.  It aches with grief for the lives lost in Connecticut last week; it aches with dread for our collective American future in Sandy Hook’s aftermath; and it aches with love and empathy for Michael, a thirteen-year old boy whose once private life has, for the last day and a half, been on display for millions to see, exploited by a mother whose opinions are representative of America’s most pervasive mass delusion: that “mental illness” is a biologically-based condition requiring psychopharmaceutical “treatment” and “mental health care”, and that “the mentally ill” are a class of Other that threatens the safety, security, and health of America.

Launching the Beyond ‘Anatomy’ Forum

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When I first read Anatomy of an Epidemic in 2010, something inside of me ignited.  I had no idea that such a sensation was...

Shanghai’d in Recovery

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I am honored to share the story of one family that has learned about the power of language, hope and letting go with love so that every family member can grab on to a life worth living.

Whose Recovery Is This?! Helping Families Heal

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Last night I had the privilege of attending my first Family Den with other Mother Bears like myself—parents, spouses, siblings and adult children. All of us have family members who have experienced mental health challenges. All of us had a story to tell.

Snake Medicine: Transforming Our Stories

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The stories we tell ourselves and others have the power to heal or to harm. This is a story about how we define mental health, the challenges we face in pursuit of it, and the power of transforming our stories.

A Road Map to Hope

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In my last blog, invited readers to consider sharing their families’ recovery stories and to open to the possibility of the healing that is available when we connect with each other through this sharing. I would like to share one of these stories with all of you.

The Power of Storytelling

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Over the years, I have heard many powerful recovery stories. I’ve also had many opportunities to share our family’s struggle with mental health challenges and our recovery journey.