Mad in America: Rethinking Mental Health

This week, we interview journalist and author Johann Hari.  Johann is one of our foremost social science thinkers and writers. In addition to writing regularly for the New York Times and Independent newspapers, he has written extensively on social science and human rights issues. His 2015 book Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs, challenges what we believe about addiction and his TED talk on our response to addiction has been viewed over 20 million times.  Johann was twice named ‘National Newspaper Journalist of the Year’ by Amnesty International. And he has been named ‘Cultural Commentator of the Year’ and ‘Environmental Commentator of the Year’ at the Comment Awards. In this interview, we talk about Johann’s latest book, Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real causes of Depression and the Unexpected Solutions, which has been called a ‘game changer’ and received plaudits for its explanation of the social and cultural issues leading to depression and anxiety. In the episode we discuss: How Johann became interested in journalism and began writing about social justice and human rights issues. What led to wanting to write a book that was partly based on his own experiences with depression and anxiety, but also that provided the evidence for social and cultural issues that may underlie the dramatic increase in the number of people needing support for emotional distress. The facts behind the chemical imbalance theory of mental illness. The role of the bio-psycho-social model of mental distress and why we may have focussed predominantly on biological interventions. Social prescribing as a means to enable connection between people who struggle with depression and anxiety. The Hamilton Depression scale and how it shows us that the effect of antidepressant drugs is small when compared to the improvements that can be achieved without drug therapy. How Johann would like to widen the definition of what may be considered an ‘antidepressant’. How disempowerment often lies at the heart of poor health. How stigma relates to our perceptions of an individual who is labelled mentally ill and how it changes if we think someone has a biological problem. Johann’s experiences in the Berlin district of Kotti. That people can hear audio of the many of the interviews held for the book at https://thelostconnections.com Relevant links: Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real causes of Depression and the Unexpected Solutions Johaan Hari talk at the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce (RSA) Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs TED Talk, Everything you think you know about addition is wrong To get in touch with us email: podcasts@madinamerica.com © Mad in America 2018

This week on MIA Radio, we interview Kelli Foulkrod. Kelli is the owner of the Organic Mental Health Center.  She is a therapist, yoga teacher, and mental health paradigm shifter based in Austin, Texas.  For the past 15 years, Kelli has worked in the mental health field and practised yoga. She has been integrating yoga and the healing arts into traditional psychotherapy for over eight years and is passionate about offering holistic mental health treatment options.   With many years experience in an academic research setting, Kelli bridges the gap between science and spirituality.  Kelli has experience serving clients populations of pregnant and postpartum women, grief and loss, psychosis, homelessness, substance abuse, teens, couples, and groups.  She offers individual, couples, and group psychotherapy services in addition to yoga therapy sessions, workshops, and retreats. In the episode we discuss: How Kelli started her journey as a psychology undergraduate at the University of Texas and working in clinical and academic research. How working in a neuroscience laboratory resulted in internal conflict and led Kelli to interest in and research into alternative modalities alongside her psychology studies. How Kelli experienced first hand the approaches that pharmaceutical manufacturers used when running clinical trials. That Kelli felt that modern psychology neglects the body and she started to practise yoga and meditation alongside studying for her masters degree in clinical psychology. That, to Kelli, modern mental health therapy feels egotistical and narcissistic and that she was resistant to becoming a clinical therapist. How people are hungry for alternatives but there are so few other options that people continue to get involved with mainstream medicine. The profound changes that occur when becoming parents and why this might lead to mental health difficulties. How we have lost touch with community and social connections that existed when we lived as tribal cultures. How shamanic ceremony and tradition can be understood and utilised in response to emotional distress. Relevant links: The Organic Mental Health Centre The Organic Mental Health Centre (Facebook) Yoga for depression - the research To get in touch with us email: podcasts@madinamerica.com © Mad in America 2018

This week on MIA Radio, we interview Dr. Jennifer Bahr. Dr Bahr is a passionate advocate for naturopathic approaches to health and wellbeing. She is the founder of Resilience Naturopathic which was founded with a mission to not only to provide an alternative to those who struggle with mental health conditions but to improve the way mental and behavioural healthcare is delivered in America.  Dr Bahr received her Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine from Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine in Tempe, AZ. Prior to that she was an Arabic Translator for the US Government and served 6 years in the US Navy. She received her Bachelor of Science in Physiology and Neurobiology from the University of Maryland. She is the President of the California Naturopathic Doctors Association, the founding Vice President of the Psychiatric Association of Naturopathic Physicians, and a member of the House of Delegates for the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians.  She previously taught at Bastyr University and is a contributing writer for Homeopathy Today, Naturopathic Doctor News and Review, Mad In America, and The Wise Mom. In the episode we discuss: How Dr. Bahr came to be involved with the psychiatric system and prescribed psychiatric drugs. That receiving a diagnosis of bipolar disorder led to fears such as loss of employment and that the condition was permanent, feeling like a life sentence. How the psychiatric drugs, including Lithium, affected Dr. Bahr’s academic performance. How those experiences led to Dr. Bahr’s interest and study into non-medication based and naturally oriented approaches to supporting mental health and wellbeing. Why naturopathic medicine might be a good approach for mental health issues. That it is important to choose naturopathic approaches as a first step to avoid potential harm from medications prescribed through the mainstream system. The inherent problems with clinical trials of psychiatric drugs, such as placebo washout. How supporting the whole person is the aim of naturopathic approaches and how this contrasts with the mainstream psychiatric approach of relying heavily on trying to alter brain chemistry. That we should focus heavily on what is happening in our environment to help address the alarming increase in both physical and mental health problems. How people can find out more about Dr. Bahr and her work by visiting https://resiliencenaturopathic.com. Relevant links: Resilience Naturopathic Rx Resilience: Cultivating the Ability to Bounce Back  American Association for Naturopathic Physicians Institute for Natural Medicine To get in touch with us email: podcasts@madinamerica.com © Mad in America 2018

This week on MIA Radio, we interview Professor Sir Robin Murray. Professor Murray is an Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist in the Psychosis Service located at the Bethlem Royal Hospital in South London. He is also a Professor of Psychiatric Research at the Institute of Psychiatry. His research covers epidemiology, molecular genetics, neuropsychiatry, neuroimaging, neuropsychology and neuropharmacology.  Professor Murray’s main research interest is finding the causes of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, as well as developing better treatments for these disorders.He is perhaps best known for helping to establish the neurodevelopmental hypothesis of schizophrenia, and for his work on the environmental risk factors relating to schizophrenia, such as obstetric events and cannabis use. In 2011, Professor Murray was awarded a knighthood for services to medicine and he is the second most widely cited psychiatrist in the world outside the USA. In this interview we discuss: •How Professor Murray came to psychiatry and what sparked his interest in research into psychosis. •Professor Murray’s work to counter the concept of schizophrenia as a debilitating brain disease and how we came to appreciate the many factors that may contribute to psychotic illness. •The importance of recognising the influence of social factors in the causes of psychotic illness. •The differences between the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM V) and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD 11). •How psychiatric diagnoses compare and contrast to diagnoses in other branches of medicine. •The question of whether schizophrenia is a real entity or purely an artificial construct. •How antipsychotic drugs exert their effects and the mechanisms by which they may lead, in some cases, to dopamine supersensitivity. •How we should be  cautious about the long-term prescribing of antipsychotic drugs. •The effect that limited healthcare resources have on psychiatric diagnoses and treatments. •What the future may hold for research into and treatment options for psychosis. Relevant links: Professor Sir Robin Murray The Psychosis Service at the Bethlem Royal Hospital 30 Years on: How the Neurodevelopmental Hypothesis of Schizophrenia Morphed into the Developmental Risk Factor Model of Psychosis  Webinar: Is Schizophrenia Dead Yet? Thou shall not criticise our drugs To get in touch with us email: podcasts@madinamerica.com © Mad in America 2017

This week on MIA Radio, we interview Celia Brown. Celia is a psychiatric survivor and a prominent leader in the movement for human rights in mental health. She is the current president of MindFreedom International, a nonprofit organization uniting 100 sponsor and affiliate grassroots groups with thousands of individual members to win human rights and alternatives for people labelled mentally ill. Celia also serves on the board of the National Empowerment Center and has co-chaired the planning committee for the National Alternatives Conference for the past few years. She was last year’s recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Alternatives Conference. In this interview, we talk about the history of the human rights movement to combat forced treatment and the important role Celia has played in it. In the episode we discuss: •The goals and values of the movement for human rights in mental health, specifically in regards to the issue of forced treatment •Celia’s role in the human rights movement and MindFreedom International •How the movement for human rights in mental health first started and its early achievements •The important role played by Judi Chamberlin in the formation of the consumer/survivor/ex-patient movement •How efforts to combat shock treatment and provide informed consent about psychiatric drugs have been a core part of the movement in recent years •The development of the peer specialist position and the peer support movement •How the human rights movement has developed alternative language to the terms and labels used by the mental health system •Some of the current tensions and divisions within the movement •Current ongoing advocacy efforts to combat forced treatment, including Tina Minkowitz’s advocacy work with the UN’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Disability Integration Act •Why the movement has faced challenges in changing policy and public opinion on the rights of people labelled mentally ill •How the movement for human rights in mental health has overlapped and intersected with other human rights movements, including the civil rights, feminist, and disability rights movements •The role Kate Millet played in bridging the psychiatric survivors movement with the feminist movement •How people can get involved in the movement for human rights in mental health by learning about the history of the movement, attending conferences, and seeking mentorship To get in touch with us email: podcasts@madinamerica.com © Mad in America 2017

This week on MIA Radio, we interview Chris Hansen. Chris started working in New Zealand as an activist after a psychiatric hospitalization 20 years ago.  She has provided advice and media comment locally, regionally and nationally, including work with the New Zealand Mental Health Commission and Ministry of Health.  She was a member of the New Zealand delegation to the United Nations for the development of the Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, as well as working as a board member for the World Network of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry.  For the past 12 years, she has worked with Shery Mead developing Intentional Peer Support and is currently in the role of director. In this interview, we talk about Chris’s personal experiences of the mental health system and how Intentional Peer Support approaches contrast with mainstream psychiatry.  In the episode we discuss: How Chris was working in the mental health system, before herself experiencing a psychiatric hospitalization. How she experienced personal loss during the time that she was hospitalized. How Chris found that her experiences led to a realisation that she didn't want to work on the medical side of the mental health system and instead focussed her efforts on peer support. That Chris’s experiences led to her becoming an activist, working locally, regionally and nationally in advisory and contract positions, including the NZ Mental Health Commission and Ministry of Health. That peer support gave Chris the hope, the inspiration and the desire to recover from her traumatic experiences of forced hospitalization and treatment with psychiatric drugs. How involvement with advocacy for the abolishment of forced treatment led Chris to work with the United Nations for the development of the Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, as well as working as a board member for the World Network of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry. How Intentional Peer Support works to makes connections with and support those who struggle with their mental health. How IPS supports and trains a wide range of organisations such as the mental health services, the police and people in the disability sector amongst others. How peer support distinguishes itself from mainstream psychiatric or psychological approaches. That learning to reconnect with people is vitally important in recovery.  Relevant links: Intentional Peer Support Intentional Peer Support, a personal perspective by Shery Mead Intentional Peer Support: Creating Relationships, Creating Change Intentional Peer Support, upcoming trainings To get in touch with us email: podcasts@madinamerica.com © Mad in America 2017   

This week on MIA Radio, we interview Dr. George Atwood. Dr. Atwood has devoted a substantial part of his life to the study and treatment of what he refers to as ‘so-called psychosis’.  He has authored or coauthored several books, including The Abyss of madness published in 2011 and more than one hundred articles. In the episode we discuss: The story of how Dr. Atwood came to be interested in “so-called psychosis,” including what piqued his interest as a high school student, and his work under mentors Austin DesLauriers and Silvan Tomkins. An overview of his more recent work on intersubjective theory with collaborator and friend, Robert Stolorow. After studying what he refers to as “madness” for over 50 years, Dr. Atwood offers his perspective that madness is not a disease or illness existing within a person, but a subjective experience of self-dissolution or catastrophe. How diagnostic classification systems can result in the false reification of mental diseases in a way that obscures individual realities. The phenomenological approach, or the study of individual human subjective experiences, as offering a hopeful future in a shifting away from “illness” or “disorder” frameworks. How psychotherapy, as a healing process, includes the relational context between clinician and patient, meriting a dedication to personal histories and contexts rather than overt symptoms.  The history of the term “schizophrenia,” and how terms such as these are embedded in a Cartesian medical model. A few of Dr. Atwood’s clinical cases and particularly his perspectives on “so-called psychosis” and “so-called bipolar disorder.” Dr. George Atwood's Personal Website with Works and Lectures To get in touch with us email: podcasts@madinamerica.com © Mad in America 2017

Download to listen later... This week on MIA Radio, we share the time between two interviewees; clinical psychologist Dr. Noel Hunter and entrepreneur and author Brett Francis. Dr. Noel Hunter is a clinical psychologist in New York and an advocate for the rights of people diagnosed with mental disorders. She believes in a trauma-informed, humanistic, person-centred approach to understanding problems in living.  She has trained in community mental health, state hospital, residential, and college counselling settings.  Dr. Hunter is on the board of directors for the Hearing Voices Network – USA, the International Society for Ethical Psychiatry & Psychology, and the National Association for Rights Protection and Advocacy. She is an Associate Editor for the peer-reviewed journal Ethical Human Psychology & Psychiatry and has been a guest editor for Asylum Magazine.  Brett Francis is a professional speaker, mental health advocate, author and entrepreneur.  Brett was herself diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome and ADHD at 6 years of age, leading to being medicated for over eleven years and subsequent difficulties with anxiety, depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder. She is now passionate about supporting and encouraging open and honest discussions about mental health and disabilities and giving confidence to those struggling. In the episode we discuss: Dr Noel Hunter How Dr. Hunter came to be involved with the mental healthcare system. That Noel found that if she did reach out and discuss her experiences, she felt punished or accused of ‘seeking attention’. That these experiences made Noel want to fight back and become a therapist and advocate who took a different approach. That Noel feels that building trust within the therapeutic relationship is a fundamental part of a therapists job. That it is healthy to be sceptical of the mainstream system and for people to be afraid of getting help because of the potential of being re-traumatised by treatment. That the medical model ultimately leads to avoidance and harm. Whether there can ever be equality in the therapeutic relationship.  Brett Francis How Brett came to be diagnosed and medicated at a very early age. Her experiences taking the antipsychotic drug Haloperidol, and that she felt it disrupted her schooling. How Brett decided not to be limited by her diagnoses but instead focussed on tackling the stigma and misinformation prevalent in mental healthcare. That we should support and encourage people to talk about their struggles and we should do that through education. That creating communities and social connections can be enormously helpful in responding to emotional or psychological distress. To get in touch with us email: podcasts@madinamerica.com © Mad in America 2017

This week on MIA Radio we interview Dr Joseph Firth. Dr Firth is a postdoctoral research fellow at Western Sydney University. His research focuses on the role of exercise and nutrition in first episode psychosis in young people. In this interview we discuss: That Dr Firth completed his PhD in Manchester, UK, which focussed on the role of exercise in the treatment of psychosis in young people. That he now works on a programme of adjunctive and novel treatments for psychosis, particularly the role of exercise and nutrition and including technology and mobile health. How results show that exercise can reduce symptoms in young people such as the cognitive deficit, lack of motivation and social withdrawal and that these are symptoms that the medications don’t really help with. That, in the very early stages of psychotic illness, there are currently few interventions other than therapy, so exercise and nutrition could have a role in reducing the need for antipsychotic drugs and even potentially affect the onset of psychotic symptoms. That qualitative research has shown that young people report that their symptoms are reduced or become less troubling when they exercise. How exercise and nutrition have key roles in reducing the health inequalities that are seen in young people treated with antipsychotic drugs. To get in touch with us email: podcasts@madinamerica.com © Mad in America 2017

This week on MIA Radio we interview Dr Jay Joseph. Dr Joseph is a clinical psychologist and author who brings a critical perspective to claims in the media and the academic literature that disordered genes underlie psychiatric disorders. His most recent books are The Trouble with Twin Studies: A Reassessment of Twin Research in the Social and Behavioral Sciences and the 2017 e-book Schizophrenia and Genetics: The End of an Illusion. In this interview, we discuss the evidence that psychiatry puts forward in support of the claim that mental disorders have an important genetic basis and the reasons why psychiatry is still searching after many decades of failed attempts. In the episode we discuss: How Dr Joseph, as a clinical psychologist, came to be interested in the validity of the diagnosis of schizophrenia. How he then became interested in the assertions by psychiatry that diagnoses such as schizophrenia had a genetic basis. That he discovered that the evidence for genetic factors underlying major psychiatric disorders is very weak and based mainly on twin and adoption studies. That, despite decades of work, there have been few if any discoveries of disordered genes that cause the major psychiatric disorders. How twin and adoption studies are used to try and demonstrate the relationship between genetics and mental disorders. That people are being told that their mental illness is genetically based which is not supported by evidence and it is rather like the chemical imbalance myth in this regard. That a disorder or condition ‘running in the family’ means that it is ‘genetic’ is also a common misconception. That psychiatry seems to be focused on finding the ‘cause’ of mental disorders within the body, rather than acknowledging that social and environmental factors are the main causes of trauma, distress, and psychological dysfunction. Relevant links: Dr Jay Joseph Schizophrenia and Genetics: The End of an Illusion Bias and Deception in Behavioral Research Schizophrenia Genetic Research – Running on Empty To get in touch with us email: podcasts@madinamerica.com © Mad in America 2017