Veterans’ Mental “Wounds” Treated Differently in Courts
-An Australian legal researcher discusses the different ways in which courts have handled cases involving war veterans.
Forced Psychiatry is Torture
I am a survivor of forced psychiatry, and I bring this perspective with me as a human rights lawyer. People with disabilities have a right to be as we are and not to have our bodies and minds made over to suit other people. We alone have the right to decide whether a medical treatment will support who we are or detract from who we are, and that is why free and informed consent is the essential requirement.
America Becoming Divided Nation of Have-more and Have-less Mental Health Care?
A report and national map showed which US states have been implementing new Medicaid provisions that buttress mental health care access, and which states haven't.
How Many Times Must a Frightened, Troubled Person Be Shot?
-Law student Renwei Chung discusses the current Supreme Court case looking at police shootings of people with disabilities.
An Open Letter to Colin Powell
Dear Colin Powell: You shared that your wife was diagnosed by a psychiatrist as having a ‘chemical imbalance.’ You said she was, as a result, put on psychotropics and found success after doing so. I’m not going to attempt to take that away from her, but whereas so many issues encompass shades of gray, the chemical imbalance theory does not. The chemical imbalance theory is not just unproven; It is debunked. But you need not take my word for it.
Are FDA Scientists Being Muzzled?
-A recent report from the Union of Concerned Scientists graded the level of employee freedom of speech at 17 US federal agencies.
Madness in Civilisation: A Cultural History of Insanity
Until recently the history of psychiatry was a neglected backwater whose murky depths were explored largely by psychiatrist. The impression conveyed by books such as Tuke’s Chapters in the History of the Insane in the British Isles, Macalpine and Hunter's Three Hundred Years of Psychiatry: 1535 - 1860, Berrios and Freemen's 150 Years of British Psychiatry 1841 - 1991, or Fuller Torrey and Miller's The Invisible Plague, is one that sees psychiatry and modern systems of mental health care as the inevitable outcome of progress through scientific thought, a (white European male-led) narrative from darkness and ignorance to enlightenment and knowledge.
“Will 20th Century Patient Safeguards Be Reversed in the 21st Century?”
-The US government has been "chipping away" at the FDA's powers in order to speed up drug approvals.
Call to Ban “Low Testosterone” Ads as “Disease-mongering”
An editorial in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society has called for a ban on advertisements about testosterone replacement therapy, and the FDA has issued warnings about the practice.
“Do the Lives of the Mentally Ill Matter to the Supreme Court?”
-Slate reports on proceedings as the US Supreme Court considers whether police should have to "accommodate" people who seem to have a mental disability.
“We Need to Unlock the Brain’s Secrets—Ethically”
-The Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues has released a report on key ethical challenges facing the BRAIN Initiative.
Public Overwhelmingly Against FDA Proposal to Allow Drug Company Salespeople “Free Rein”
-Public Citizen analyzed public comments on proposed government rule changes for drug company sales representatives.
National Security Rationales are Intensifying the Pharmaceuticalization of Society
Scholars from the Centre for Global Health Policy describe changes in drug policies being taken by many national governments that are motivated by national security concerns.
“How was Your Stay in a Psychiatric Hospital?”
-"I'm sorry this blog post turned out to be so polarizing," writes Shrink Rap psychiatrist Dinah Miller. "No one has ever called me 'evil' before."
How About Paying Poor People to Take Psychiatric Drugs?
-Healthy Debate discusses some experiments with doctors paying their patients to engage in healthier behaviors.
Certify All Election Candidates’ Mental Health?
-A second prominent Russian politician is proposing that all candidates for elections should have to produce a psychiatrist's certification of their mental health.
Can Employers Force Employees into Psychiatric Evaluations?
-Swaab Attorneys reviews Australian case law to examine when an employer can force an employee to provide medical evidence or submit to a psychiatric evaluation.
Many States Trying to Slow Antipsychotic Prescribing to Children
Thirty-one US states have implemented some kind of "prior authorization" policies to try to rein in the unnecessary prescribing of antipsychotic medications to children.
Many Pharmaceutical Companies Funding Congressman Tim Murphy
Data on OpenSecrets.gov show Murphy is being heavily funded by the same interests that stand to benefit financially from his Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act -- pharmaceutical companies and psychiatric hospitals.
Health Researchers Question Police Claims of Mental Health “Crisis”
-Are police exaggerating community mental health crises in order to get more funding as crime declines?
“Are There Ways To Lessen The Violation That People Feel After Psychiatric Hospitalizations?”
-Psychiatrist Dinah Miller asks her readers if giving patients pizza or cake when they're discharged would help alleviate their traumatization from forced treatment.
“How to Improve Interactions Between Police and the Mentally Ill”
-Two psychiatrists critically analyze training programs for police officers.
“This Microchip Will Deliver Drugs in Your Body by Remote Control”
-Motherboard reports on an implantable chip that can hold hundreds of doses of drugs and be activated by remote control.
Assisted Outpatient Treatment in Orange County is So Far All Voluntary
-Four months into the implementation of "Laura's Law" for Assisted Outpatient Treatment, everyone offered extra services has chosen to use them voluntarily.
Does Forced Treatment Save Taxpayers “Gobs of Money”?
-Time magazine reports on a study about Assisted Outpatient Treatment, without disclosing that the study was developed for prominent promoters of AOT.
