Category Archives: Psychotropic drugs

Rethinking Madness by Paris Williams PhD

Rethinking MadnessRecent domestic and international research suggests that full recovery from schizophrenia and other related psychotic disorders is not only possible, but may actually be the most common outcome given the right conditions, a finding that flies directly in the face of the mainstream understanding of these confusing disorders.

In Rethinking Madness, Dr. Paris Williams takes the reader step by step on a highly engaging journey of discovery, exploring how the mainstream understanding of schizophrenia has become so profoundly misguided, while crafting a much more accurate and hopeful vision of madness. As this vision unfolds, we discover a deeper sense of appreciation for the profound wisdom and resilience that lies within our beings while also coming to the unsettling realization of just how thin the boundary is between so called madness and so called sanity.

“In Rethinking Madness, Paris Williams writes of how science, history, and personal stories of recovery from madness all tell of how the medical model of schizophrenia/psychosis is horribly flawed and needs to be fundamentally rethought. In a clear manner, he lays out the evidence for a ‘paradigm shift’ in our thinking that, at its core, would offer people who experience madness both hope and the knowledge that robust recovery is possible, and, with the right support, quite common. And as the personal stories in his book reveal, for some, a bout of madness can be a transformative personal journey.”  Robert Whitaker, author of Mad in America and Anatomy of an Epidemic.

Purchase book from Amazon.com
Rethinking Madness website
Live Webinar Friday, May 18 and Saturday, May 19, 2012

Dr. Harriet Cooke on KBOO

Is it possible that the drug-based psychiatric care industry has actually fueled an epidemic of mental illness?

Dr. Harriet Cooke of Rethinking Psychiatry was the featured guest on Lisa Loving’s KBOO FM radio show on April 14, 2012.  They discussed the mental health industry and Robert Whitaker’s award winning book, Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs, and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America.

Listen here

Robert Whitaker at ISEPP

Robert Whitaker defends Anatomy of an Epidemic

Anatomy of an Epidemic by Robert WhitakerISEPP (International Society for Ethical Psychology & Psychiatry) is a non-profit research and education network focusing on the critical study of the mental health movement.  Robert Whitaker spoke at the group’s 2011 conference in Los Angeles.  He discussed attempts by certain psychiatric groups to discredit the research and conclusions he presents in his book, Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs, and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America.

Whitaker’s talk can be viewed here:

Robert Whitaker at the ISEPP 2011 Conference in L.A. (part 1)
Robert Whitaker at the ISEPP 2011 Conference in L.A. (part 2)

Treating Depression: Is there a placebo effect?

by Lesley Stahl for CBS News

Do antidepressants work? Since the introduction of Prozac in the 1980s, prescriptions for antidepressants have soared 400 percent, with 17 million Americans currently taking some form of the drug. But how much good is the medication itself doing? “The difference between the effect of a placebo and the effect of an antidepressant is minimal for most people,” says Harvard scientist Irving Kirsch. Will Kirsch’s research, and the work of others, change the $11.3 billion antidepressant industry?   View video

 

Wasting the Taxpayers Medicaid Dollars on Psychiatric Drugs

by Janet Parker in OpEdNews.com

Let us remember that the amount of money you spend on medical care does not necessarily equate to quality care — medical fraud like a hidden greedy parasite saps the lifeblood of our public health system.  As we restrict preventative medical care to the poor and needy we are expanding the use of psychiatric drugs exponentially to include an ever increasing percentage of our population on these addictive lifelong mind-altering medications.

As a nation, we must not only look to the human rights ethics of whether psychiatric drugs should be prescribed with such frequency but also consider the ultimate cost to our nation’s health care budget.

Should we not question whether behavioral/social support systems, non-drug therapies, psychotherapy and other possible treatments should be the first line of action, rather than reaching for a pill that will doom a patient to lifelong treatment with expensive and often dangerous medications?

Read more.

Second Annual Symposium

Friday & Saturday, May 11 – 12, 2012

CEU’s available for LCSW’s & LPC’s each day.

Join us at our second annual symposium as we continue to foster collaboration and build community in the mental health arena.  Our theme this year is Renaming and Reclaiming Our Mental Health Story: Highlighting Our Personal Journeys, Experience & Legal Rights

This is an inclusive forum for mental health professionals, organizations, and those seeking to learn more about holistic and integrative treatment options for mental health issues. We will be highlighting personal stories, practitioner experiences, and clarifying individual’s legal rights..

James Gottstein of PsychRights.org

Keynote Speaker, James Gottstein, Esq.

Founder of PsychRights Law Project for Psychiatric Rights whose mission is to mount a strategic litigation campaign against forced psychiatric drugging and electroshock across the United States. Winner of four important Alaska Supreme Court cases involving psychiatric rights.

Click here for details
Symposium program and resource guide (pdf)

Press Release (pdf)