On July 1, the very eminent psychiatrist Ronald Pies, MD, wrote an article for Psychiatric Times titled Positivism, Humanism and the Case for Psychiatric Diagnosis. The article also appeared in Medscape on August 20. Dr. Pies begins by discussing websites “…that critically examine psychiatry.” These websites, he tells us, "…vary from the viscerally enraged, to the politely skeptical, to the constructively critical, and everything in between. The worst antipsychiatry Web sites, in my view, are veritable bastions of bigotry, in which psychiatrists are subjected to invective and abuse that would never be tolerated if directed, say, at some ethnic or racial minority." ...

I was searching Google for effects of propaganda on the human psych, and stumbled upon this site. After reading a few stories, I felt I had to share my own. When I was in high school I was depressed. To the point where I was a walking text book definition. Failing grades, poor hygiene, isolation. All the signs were obvious.I had to go to rehab for drinking too much cough syrup.When I went to the doctor he diagnosed me with ADHD. I have never been a hyper person. always rather slow and calm.Than he tells me that he is going to just experiment with multiple drugs to see what works, and than diagnose me with whatever that drug treats.First drug was Vyvanse (lisdexamfetamine dimesylate)Its a new “abuse-free” amphetamine. Due to a coating of protein, the chemical can only dissolve in your stomach acid. Injecting, Smoking, or Snorting would not activate it.However the prescribed dose taken once a day was enough to make me a full effect of amphetamines, and I began losing alot of sleep. After having multiple panic attacks on this medication, I demanded the doctor take me off of it.He than gave me Focalin (Dexmethylphenidate Hydrochloride)Another new “abuse-free” drug. During my younger years I experimented with MDMA, and I would compare the feeling of Focalin with that of Extacy.When I got into college my doctor pulled me off of it saying that college kids are more likely to sell it, and that he must change my prescription.Next drug was Strattera (atomoxetine). I threw up every time I took it. It gave me intense piriods of happiness followed by extreme bursts of anger for no reason at all.I stopped going to the doctor, I stopped taking medications. I no longer trust the medical system, the pharm companies, or even the government. I’d rather suffer the depression untreated than go through what I went through in high school.On a side note, The experience made me drop out of school, and get my GED. That year, my school experienced a higher drop out rate than ever before. ...

In January 2014, the journal Research on Social Work Practice published a special issue: A Critical Appraisal of the DSM-5: Social Work Perspectives. There were many excellent articles in this volume, some of which I have highlighted in earlier posts. One of the very outstanding articles is The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as a Major Form of Dehumanization in the Modern World, by Eileen Gambrill, PhD, a graduate school Professor at the School of Social Welfare, University of California, Berkeley. ...

Robert Findling, MD, is a pediatrician and a psychiatrist. He is the Director of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, and Vice President of Psychiatric Services and Research at the Kennedy Krieger Institute. On July 31, Dr. Findling published a brief video (and article) on Medscape: Adverse Events Caused by a Drug Warning? Dr. Findling’s article is essentially a commentary on a study by Christine Lu et al, which was published by the BMJ on June 18. Here is the conclusion paragraph from the Lu et al report: ...

I’d been seeing an NHS clinical psychologist for thirteen years. Let’s call her Marie and me Sarah (all names are changed in my story). We talked about what had happened to me and how it had affected me, we looked at what I found difficult. We considered strategies to manage my distress that sometimes manifested as profound anxiety and dissociation, and at others as depression. We used relaxation techniques, grounding techniques. She offered phone support between appointments if she had space, set up a good plan with the GP for their support and for me to use three days of low dose diazepam if I was become overwhelmed and exhausted, just enough to get me back on track. I had some art therapy. We thought about all aspects of my life and how I could best look after myself within my friendship/family groups.But I began to struggle more as we wrestled the most traumatic episodes of my childhood. I started to feel increasingly suicidal for more of the time and the self-harm increased. I needed more help. I lived alone. We’d often thought that were there a safe place to go, a restful, peaceful, caring place, that would have been so good. Marie and the GP (rightly) suggested hospital would not be that and reviewed what could be done. With some persuading, the Crisis Team began to offer me some support from 2005. They were mixed. One CPN, Matt, was fantastic; most saw me as ‘hysterical’ or a bottomless pit. But they didn’t know me. Then the Trust axed Marie’s post at a crucial point in my psychodynamic therapy. I was in turmoil. A new clin psych was found, Simon. It took me a time to trust a man, but eventually work became possible and we got back to exploring the part of my past that so often caused me to feel I was a nothing and a no-one with no right to life. I felt I was fighting this beast called suicide who was sucking me in such that only my toes were sticking out of its clamped jaw, jaws my arms could not prize open. I just had to hang on, to not be swallowed, for 2 days until the appointment with Simon, and then there would be help. ...

There was an interesting article published on April 12, 2014 in Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics. It’s called The Efficacy of Antidepressants on Overall Well-Being and Self-Reported Depression Symptom Severity in Youth: A Meta-Analysis, by Gary Spielmans and Katherine Gerwig, both of the Psychology Department, Metropolitan State University, St. Paul, Minnesota. The authors conducted a word-search in Medline, PsychINFO, and the Cochrane Central Register, and identified 8 studies that met their criteria. They combined the data from these studies and concluded: ...

On July 28, I published a post called Simon Says: Happiness Won’t Cure Mental Illness. The article was essentially a critique of a post written by British psychiatrist Simon Wessely, who is the current President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. In his post Dr. Wessely had stated: "…you can come at this from the other direction i.e. that by treating their mental illness, patients will inevitably become happier as their suffering is alleviated. And I certainly can’t argue with that." ...

On July 22, Just Another Word Press.com site ran an article called Evolution not revolution: My thoughts on the DCP’s call for a paradigm shift. The website is owned and operated by MTAS Psychology, an agency providing psychological therapy and expert witness services in Manchester, UK. The article is unsigned. The primary focus of the article is the paradigm shift paper issued on May 13, 2013 by the British Psychological Society’s Division of Clinical Psychology. That paper, as readers may remember, drew attention to “conceptual and empirical limitations” inherent in psychiatry’s so-called diagnostic system, and called for a paradigm shift – “towards a conceptual system not based on a ‘disease’ model.” ...

Professor Simon Wessely, who was recently installed as President of Britain’s Royal College of Psychiatrists, has just written his second post in that capacity. It’s called Happiness: The greatest gift that I possess? The background to Dr. Wessely’s article is the recent launching of the UK’s Centre Forum’s Mental Health Commission’s report: The pursuit of happiness: a new ambition for our mental health. This is a very interesting report, the gist of which can perhaps be gained from these quotes: ...

On July 17, I wrote a post on the use of neuroleptic drugs as chemical restraints in nursing homes. The article generated some comments, one of which touched on some very fundamental issues which, in my view, warrant further discussion. The comment was from drsusanmolchan and read as follows: "All drugs can be dangerous toxic chemicals when not used appropriately. While many valid points are made in this article, it’s very one-sided and could be considered biased in that it’s written by a psychologist. I’ve seen many patients and families benefit from their use. ...