A New Vision for Mental Health

How the “Chemical Imbalance” Metaphor Harms Patients

Author: Editorial 2nd June 2023 0 Comments

This article by Justin Garson has been published in Psychology Today. It begins: People who think their depression comes from a chemical imbalance are more pessimistic about recovery. They also tend to believe that medication is more useful than therapy. Fortunately,…
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Uncategorised

chemical imbalance theory, depression, Justin Garson, Prozac, Psychology Today, serotonin, SSRIs

Eating Disorder Helpline Fires Staff, Transitions to Chatbot After Unionization

Author: Editorial 1st June 2023 0 Comments

“Motherboard tested the currently public version of Tessa and was told that it was a chatbot off the bat. ‘Hi there, I’m Tessa. I am a mental health support chatbot here to help you feel better whenever you need a stigma-free way to talk…
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a coherent system

chatbots, Chloe Xiang, National Eating Disorders Association, Vice magazine

Psychedelics: The revolutionary drugs that could change your life – a guide from the expert

Author: Editorial 31st May 2023 0 Comments

This book has been written by Prof. David Nutt. The publishers say: “We are on the cusp of a major revolution in psychiatric medicine and neuroscience. After fifty years of prohibition, criminalisation and fear, science is finally showing us that psychedelics…
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collaborative practice

ayahuasca, books, David Nutt, depression, Ketamine, LSD, magic mushrooms, MDMA, Neuropsychopharmacology, neuroscience, OCD, psilocybin, psychedelic drugs, PTSD

Improving mental health is a walk in the park (but mind the volcanoes)

Author: Editorial 29th May 2023 1 Comment

This article by Jann Bellamy has been published by Science-Based Medicine. It begins: “A new study from researchers at the University of Vermont adds to the body of evidence suggesting that better mental health is right out your front door. [Schwartz, AJ, et…
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a wellbeing society

British Ecological Society, Christopher Danforth, exercise, green spaces, happiness, Hedonometer, Jann Bellamy, Science-Based Medicine, wellbeing

The History of Emotions: A Very Short Introduction

Author: Editorial 26th May 2023 0 Comments

This book has been written by Thomas Dixon. The publishers say: “Emotions are complex mental states that resist reduction. They are visceral reactions but also beliefs about the world. They are spontaneous outbursts but also culturally learned performances. They are intimate…
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emotion-focused care

books, Culture & Society, emotions, history, subjectivity, Thomas Dixon

Mental health hospitals are ‘making children worse’, leading charity warns

Author: Editorial 25th May 2023 0 Comments

Rebecca Thomas reports for The Independent: “Mental health hospitals for children are making patients worse, a major charity has found, as more than half of those they treat report negative experiences. Britain’s child inpatient mental health units are being used as…
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a coherent system

children and adolescents, coercive psychiatry, in-patient experiences, inpatient mental health units, Rebecca Thomas, restraint, The Independent

What did the scientific literature learn from internal company documents in the pharmaceutical industry? A scoping review

Author: Editorial 24th May 2023 0 Comments

This review by Marc-André Gagnon and Miaoran Dong has been published in Cochrane Evidence Synthesis and Methods. The abstract says: “Objective To identify all scientific papers that used internal industry documents in the pharmaceutical sector and analyze what and how the…
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a coherent system

Cochrane Evidence Synthesis and Methods, drug trials, Marc-André Gagnon, Miaoran Dong, pharmaceutical industry, Research

JAMA Psychiatry: No evidence that psychiatric treatments produce “successful outcomes”

Author: Editorial 22nd May 2023 0 Comments

This article by Peter Simons has been published by Mad in the UK. It begins: “In a viewpoint piece published in JAMA Psychiatry, researchers write that there is no evidence that psychiatric interventions lead to ‘successful’ outcomes. Successful outcomes, they write, include…
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a coherent system

Charles Zorumski, JAMA Psychiatry, Kenneth Freedland, Mad in the UK, outcome measurement, Peter Simons, psychiatry

It has a huge and powerful lobby which turns with fury on its critics so I know this question will get me into loads of trouble but… does ADHD even exist?

Author: Editorial 19th May 2023 0 Comments

This article by Peter Hitchens has been published by the Daily Mail. It begins: “Does ADHD in fact exist? This week the BBC ’s Panorama programme quite rightly exposed some very worrying private clinics. In online consultations, staff had diagnosed a BBC reporter with ADHD — attention deficit hyperactivity disorder —…
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a coherent system

ADHD, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Daily Mail, diagnostic labelling, medical model, Peter Hitchens, psychiatry, ritalin

Encounterism: the Neglected Joys of Being in Person

Author: Editorial 18th May 2023 0 Comments

This book by Andy Field will be published in July. The publishers say: “The light touch of a hairdresser’s hands on one’s scalp, the euphoric energy of a nightclub, huddling with strangers under a shelter in the rain, a spontaneous snowball…
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a wellbeing society

Andy Field, books, Culture & Society, loneliness, social isolation, wellbeing