A New Vision for Mental Health

The Happiness Hypothesis: Putting Ancient Wisdom to the Test of Modern Science

Author: Editorial 4th May 2022 0 Comments

This book comes from social psychologist Jonathan Haidt. The publishers say: “Every culture rests on a bedrock of folk wisdom handed down through generations.The pronouncements of philosophers are homespun by our grandmothers, and find their way into our common sense: what…
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a wellbeing society

books, happiness, Jonathan Haidt, positive psychology, psychology, wellbeing

People with psychosis can heal by rebuilding their life stories

Author: Editorial 2nd May 2022 0 Comments

This article by Henry R. Cowan has been published on the Psyche website. Although it uses the scientifically meaningless term “schizophrenia”, it nonetheless has valuable things to say. It begins: “What would you say if I asked you to tell the story…
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collaborative practice

Henry R. Cowan, insight therapy, narrative identity, narrative structure, personal narrative, Psyche, psychology, psychosis, psychotherapy, schizophrenia

Causation: A Very Short Introduction

Author: Editorial 29th April 2022 0 Comments

Causation: A Very Short Introduction is the title of a book by Stephen Mumford and Rani Lill Anjum. It’s relevant to the field of mental health because of (for example): The scientific paradigm in relation to mental healthcare. Should this paradigm…
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a coherent system

books, causation, complexity-based practice, evidence-based practice, New Approaches, philosophy, philosophy of science, Rani Anjum, reductionism, Stephen Mumford

Is the chemical imbalance an ‘urban legend’? An exploration of the status of the serotonin theory of depression in the scientific literature

Author: Editorial 28th April 2022 0 Comments

This study/article by Benjamin Anga, MarkHorowitz and Joanna Moncrieff has been published in ScienceDirect. The abstract says: “The theory that depression is caused by a serotonin abnormality or other chemical imbalance has become widely accepted by the public and is one…
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a coherent system

antidepressants, Benjamin Anga, chemical imbalance theory, depression, Joanna Moncrieff, Mark Horowitz, ScienceDirect, serotonin

Desperate Remedies: Psychiatry and the Mysteries of Mental Illness

Author: Editorial 27th April 2022 0 Comments

This book has been written by Andrew Scull. The publishers say: “For more than two hundred years, disturbances of reason, cognition and emotion – the sort of things that were once called ‘madness’ – have been described and treated by the…
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a coherent system

Andrew Scull, asylum, books, history of psychiatry, insanity, psychiatry

Scientific Pollyannaism: From Inquisition to Positive Psychology

Author: Editorial 25th April 2022 0 Comments

This book has been written by Oksana Yakushko. The publishers say: “This book argues that the story of the orphan girl Pollyanna (namely, her strategy of playing the ‘glad games’ to manage loss, abuse, and social prejudice) serves as a framework…
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a wellbeing society

books, emotional distress, emotions, happiness, Oksana Yakushko, Pollyannaism, positive psychology, scientism, wellbeing

Prescribing Antipsychotics in First Episode Psychosis

Author: Editorial 22nd April 2022 0 Comments

This course by Dr. Lex Wunderink (professor at the University of Gronigen in the Netherlands) is provided for free (or else a voluntary donation) by Mad in America Continuing Education. Subtitled “Is Less More?”, the course includes: IntroductionLecture videoDownload of lecture…
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collaborative practice

antipsychotics, first episode psychosis, Lex Wunderink, Mad in America Continuing Education, psychiatry, psychosis, Research, University of Gronigen, videos

Common Statistical Method Conflates Withdrawal with Relapse

Author: Editorial 21st April 2022 0 Comments

“Researchers argue that common study methods for psychiatric drugs may inadvertently minimize withdrawal effects and inflate drug efficacy.“ This article by Peter Simons has been published by Mad in America. It begins: “Survival analysis is a statistical technique often used to…
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a coherent system

BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine, drug withdrawal, Janus Christian Jakobsen, Joanna Moncrieff, Mad in America, Peter Simons, relapse, Research, statistics, Survival analysis

Primum non nocere: an evolutionary analysis of whether antidepressants do more harm than good

Author: Editorial 20th April 2022 0 Comments

This review has been published on the PubMed website. The abstract says: “Antidepressant medications are the first-line treatment for people meeting current diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder. Most antidepressants are designed to perturb the mechanisms that regulate the neurotransmitter serotonin…
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collaborative practice

antidepressant side-effects, antidepressants, depression, evolutionary biology, placebo effect, PubMed, serotonin

Association between patient beliefs regarding assigned treatment and clinical response: reanalysis of data from the Hypericum Depression Trial Study Group

Author: Editorial 18th April 2022 0 Comments

This study has been published on the PubMed website. The abstract says: “Objective: To reanalyze data from a 2002 study by the Hypericum Depression Trial Study Group to determine whether patients who believed they were receiving active therapy rather than placebo obtained…
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collaborative practice

antidepressants, depression, placebo effect, PubMed, Research