Unsafe Use of Sleep Drug Zolpidem is Common
Three out of four users of the sedative, zolpidem (brand name Ambien), do not follow FDA recommendations to reduce risk.
Escaping from AOT: Letter to the Judge
To the judge presiding over my upcoming AOT hearing: I would like a better way to take care of my own health care than the choices currently being imposed on me by community mental health centers, which involve forcibly injecting me with a drug that I do not want and making me take a daily pill that I do not want to take. There is no reason that anyone should make my own health care choices for me.
The Story of a Professional Delusion: Do Psychiatrists Believe Their Own Words?
I believe this is what happened: The people responsible for this travesty looked at the truth (that psychiatrists hardly ever tell the truth about their drugs) and realised they didn't like what would flow from that fact getting loose. So they removed it and substituted a falsehood (only ever) whose consequences they could live with.
Former Service User Studies the Inpatient Experience
Researcher and former service-user Diana Rose utilizes a participatory research process to examine experiences on inpatient wards.
Psychologists Argue for Decolonial Approach to Global Poverty
Individualist psychological models of poverty pathologize poor communities, decolonial approaches that emphasize context and interdependence may be more sustainable.
Inhumane Medicine in Germany: A Dark Chapter Continued
Although I left UeckermĂźnde without the ability to speak, heavily traumatized and barely able to move, I managed to reclaim life after more than a decade. Today I am one of the few witnesses who survived the Hell of UeckermĂźnde, who can tell the story of my companions and raise awareness of the injustice committed against us as well as demand answers.
Poor and Foster Care Children More Likely to be Diagnosed and Treated with Psychiatric...
Study details Medicaid-insured birth cohortâs exposure to psychiatric medications and mental health services.
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation No Better Than Placebo for Treatment-Resistant Depression
A new study in JAMA Psychiatry found that transcranial magnetic stimulation was no better than placebo for treatment-resistant depression.
Police Killings Vicariously Impact Mental Health of Black Americans
New research provides evidence that police killings of unarmed Black Americans impact the mental health of Black Americans.
FDA Defends Decision to Approve Digital Aripiprazole
Members of the U.S. Food and Drug Administrationâs Psychiatry Products division go on the defensive in a new article, responding to concerns about the agencyâs approval of digital aripiprazole.
Citizens Petition Calls for Sexual Side Effect Warnings
Researchers take action after study exposes enduring sexual dysfunction as a potential side effect of serotonin reuptake inhibiting antidepressants, 5Îą-reductase inhibitors, and isotretinoin.
Researcher Critiques Misleading Media Coverage of Lancet Antidepressant Meta-Analysis
The BMJâs clinical editor takes issue with uncritical media coverage of antidepressant network meta-analysis, outlining reporting missteps.
Despite the Evidence, Overprescription of Stimulants Continues
A new study finds that stimulant prescribing rates to children continue to rise despite the well-established evidence documenting overdiagnosis of ADHD and overprescription of stimulants.
Massive Reforms for Pharmaceutical System Proposed
The US/Canadian Pharmaceutical Policy Reform Working Group proposes universal drug coverage and ambitious reforms to the pharmaceutical system.
Randomized Controlled Trials of Psychiatric Drugs Tell of Harm Done
The most important data in an RCT is not whether the drug provides a statistically significant benefit over placebo. The most important data is the ânumber needed to treatâ calculation (NNT). For the person considering taking an antidepressant or an antipsychotic, the NNT data provides the âmathâ needed to weigh the potential benefit of taking the drug against the potential harm of doing so.
Spotlight on Institutional Psychiatry
Spotlight on Institutional Psychiatry is a response by psychiatric survivors and allies to Operating in Darkness, a scathing 2017 report on British Columbiaâs Mental Health Act Detention System. We hope that professionals will take note of the devastating effects of forced psychiatric treatment and be moved to speak out, and, above all, that survivors will feel encouraged and inspired by our efforts.
Prominent Researcher and Psychotherapist Questions âEvidence-Based Therapyâ
Dr. Johnathan Shedler recently published a paper critiquing how the term âevidence-basedâ is being used in the field of psychotherapy.
New Clinical Guidelines on Deprescribing Benzodiazepines
New guidelines recommend deprescribing benzodiazepine receptor agonists for adults.
Review Finds Lack of Evidence for Antidepressants in Treatment of Insomnia
Results from a Cochrane meta-analysis find that the common practice of prescribing antidepressants to treat insomnia is not supported by current evidence.
We Need to Address the Socioeconomic Causes of Distress
From The Independent: Over the past several years, mental health awareness has become a high priority. But in order to truly make a difference in people's...
QuarterWatch Reports: Perspectives on Emerging Drug Risks
A new issue of QuarterWatch critiques the recent Ciprani meta-analysis on antidepressants and reports on the adverse effects of the newest antidepressant, vortioxetine.
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Doctors Launch Sweeping Pharmaceutical Reform Proposal
From Medical Xpress: A group of 21 prominent physicians have released a comprehensive proposal to guarantee everyone access to safe, innovative, and affordable medication. The proposed reforms...
Mental Health Industry Should Embrace Choices Beyond Drugs
In this video for NowThis, Yana Jacobs critiques the mental health industry standard of prescribing drugs as the first-line treatment for "mental illness." She emphasizes...
The Mental Health Act Review: Everything Remains the Same
From Tales from the Madhouse: On May 1st, the Independent Review of the Mental Health Act published a 60-page interim report. The report makes it clear that no...
Closing the Asylums
In this piece for Jacobin, John Foot describes the Italian psychiatrist Franco Basaglia's efforts to revolutionize the mental health system in Italy. Basaglia sparked a...
