Joanna Moncrieff – A New Vision for Mental Health

Personal Perspective on the Systematic Review of Serotonin Imbalance Hypothesis for depression and Mechanism of Action for Antidepressants

Author: Editorial 12th September 2022 0 Comments

This interview with Dr. Mark Horowitz is conducted by Fauzia Khan and has been published in The Physician. The abstract says: “Fauzia Khan meets Dr Mark Horowitz, Trainee Psychiatrist and Clinical Research Fellow in the NHS. Mark talks about his journey…
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a coherent system

antidepressants, chemical imbalance theory, depression, Fauzia Khan, Joanna Moncrieff, Mark Horowitz, psychiatry, Research, SSRIs, The Physician

My adult ADHD drugs felt like a lifeline. Then came the scary side-effects …

Author: Editorial 22nd August 2022 0 Comments

“After a year on prescription stimulants, I started to unravel. Would a desperate experiment with street narcotics make me see things differently?” This article by Sophie Knight has been published in The Guardian. It begins: “At first being diagnosed with ADHD…
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collaborative practice

ADHD, Dexamphetamine, Joanna Moncrieff, methylphenidate, psychiatry, ritalin, Sophie Knight, speed, The Guardian

How to take the news that depression has not been shown to be caused by a chemical imbalance

Author: Editorial 27th July 2022 0 Comments

This article is from psychiatrist Dr. Joanna Moncrieff. It begins: “For decades people have been told that depression is caused by a serotonin deficiency. This was the rationale behind the introduction of the SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor) antidepressants in the…
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collaborative practice

antidepressants, chemical imbalance theory, depression, Joanna Moncrieff, Molecular Psychiatry, pharmaceutical industry, psychiatry, serotonin, tapering

A Decisive Blow to the Serotonin Hypothesis of Depression

Author: Editorial 25th July 2022 0 Comments

This article by Christopher Lane has been published in Psychology Today. It begins: “Almost as soon as it was floated in 1965 by Harvard psychiatrist Joseph Schildkraut, the serotonin hypothesis of depression —reduced and simplified by pharma marketing to the ‘chemical imbalance’…
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a coherent system

antidepressants, chemical imbalance theory, depression, Joanna Moncrieff, Jonathan Leo, Mark Horowitz, pharmaceutical industry, psychiatry, Psychology Today, serotonin

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

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

Depression: why drugs and electricity are not the answer

Author: Editorial 3rd March 2022 0 Comments

This article from Prof. John Read (clinical psychologist) and Dr. Joanna Moncrieff (psychiatrist) has been published in Psychological Medicine. The abstract says: “The dominant view within mental health services and research suggests that feeling depressed is a kind of medical illness,…
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a coherent system

depression, ECT, Joanna Moncrieff, John Read, psychiatry, Psychological Medicine

The case for establishing a minimal medication alternative for psychosis and schizophrenia

Author: Editorial 24th September 2021 0 Comments

This opinion piece by Ruth Cooper, John Mason, John Richardson, and Joanna Moncrieff has been published in the journal Psychosis. The abstract says: “The development of severe mental health conditions is strongly linked to our environments, particularly experiences of trauma and adversity….
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collaborative practice

alternative treatments, antipsychotic reduction or discontinuation, Joanna Moncrieff, John Mason, John Richardson, minimal medication, psychiatry, psychosis, psychosocial treatments, Ruth Cooper, schizophrenia

‘Safe’ Z-drug sleeping tablets given to MILLIONS each year are as addictive as Valium – and they can cause crushing anxiety, flu-like effects and suicidal thoughts

Author: Editorial 21st April 2021 0 Comments

Reporting for the Daily Mail, Miranda Levy writes : “Zopiclone is the so-called ‘safer’ sleeping pill dished out by doctors to millions of Britons each year. When it was launched in the 1990s, it was touted as a user-friendly alternative to…
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a wellbeing society, collaborative practice

anxiety, Daily Mail, drug withdrawal symptoms, insomnia, Joanna Moncrieff, Miranda Levy, sleep, sleep disruption, sleeping pills, suicidal thoughts, Z-drug sleeping tablets, Zopiclone

Lasting Damage from Prescribed Drugs

Author: Editorial 5th March 2021 0 Comments

“There is a large-scale failure to appreciate the risks involved in taking drugs that alter brain function on a long-term basis.” This article by psychiatrist Dr. Joanna Moncrieff has been published by Mad in the UK. It begins: “The recent furor…
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collaborative practice

antidepressants, drug withdrawal symptoms, Joanna Moncrieff, Mad in the UK, neuroleptics, prescription drugs, psychiatry, tardive dyskinesia