Mad in America: Rethinking Mental Health

This week we have a very special guest for you, it has been my honour to be able to interview Dr. Peter Breggin. Dr. Breggin is a Harvard-trained psychiatrist and former Consultant at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). He has been called “The Conscience of Psychiatry” for his many decades of successful efforts to reform the mental health field. His work provides the foundation for modern criticism of psychiatric diagnoses and drugs, and leads the way in promoting more caring and effective therapies. His research and educational projects have brought about major changes in the FDA-approved Full Prescribing Information or labels for dozens of antipsychotic and antidepressant drugs. He continues to educate the public and professions about the tragic psychiatric drugging of America’s children. He has authored dozens of scientific articles and more than twenty books, including medical books and the bestsellers Toxic Psychiatry and Talking Back to Prozac. His most recent three books are Guilt, Shame and Anxiety: Understanding and Overcoming Negative Emotions; Medication Madness: the Role of Psychiatric Drugs in Cases of Violence, Suicide and Murder; and Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal: A Guide for Prescribers, Therapists, Patients and their Families. As a medical-legal expert, Dr. Breggin has unprecedented and unique knowledge about how the pharmaceutical industry too often commits fraud in researching and marketing psychiatric drugs. He has testified many times in malpractice, product liability and criminal cases, often in relation to adverse drug effects and more occasionally electroshock and psychosurgery. A list of his trial testimony since 1985 is contained in the last section of his Resume on Dr. Breggin's website. Dr. Breggin has taught at many universities and has a private practice of psychiatry in Ithaca, New York. For a career as long and distinguished as Dr. Breggin’s we have decided to devote two episodes to hearing him speak. This first part covers Dr. Breggin's career, his views on psychiatry and psychiatric drugs and also recent developments with the trial involving Michelle Carter. Part 2 of the interview will focus more on the trial and Dr. Breggin’s involvement. In this episode, we discuss: How, age just 18, Dr. Breggin worked as a volunteer in a metropolitan state hospital in 1954. That his immediate impression was a comparison with German concentration camps as he witnessed the brutality including lobotomy and insulin coma therapy. How when the drugs were introduced, primarily Thorazine, the patients would quieten, becoming docile and obedient. That this was brain damage for the purpose of control. That Dr. Breggin then wanted to go to medical school and become part of the reform movement. That, in the 1950s, there were still psychiatrists that had an interest and training in  psychological therapy or psychoanalytic approaches, and social and community psychology. That this also resulted in psychiatry becoming very hostile towards psychosocial approaches, which were less expensive and better. Then, in the 1960s, psychiatry went into partnership with the drug companies and got richer. That Dr. Breggin then entered private practice and learned that lobotomy was making a comeback. This led to a multi year, international campaign to halt the use of lobotomy and psychosurgery in the western world. Since then, Dr. Breggin has also campaigned tirelessly to make changes in the FDA labelling of psychotropic drugs. That Dr. Breggin feels blessed to have been able to stand up for others but also occasionally feels worried by the attacks from the psychiatric establishment. How Dr. Breggin feels that we should tell the truth about psychiatric drugs and that claims of ‘scaremongering’ is a mechanism to reduce criticism of the drugs. That informing people is very different compared to frightening them. That each individual person is still the best judge of when and how to go about withdrawing from psychiatric medications. That Dr. Breggin feels that psychiatry has no economic incentive to change, so the consumer has to stop going to psychiatrists for medications. How the District Attorney in the Michelle Carter case is now trying to stop Dr. Breggin's Mad in America blogs about her case. Relevant Links Peter Breggin’s personal website Dr. Breggin’s blogs on Mad in America: Part 1 Part 2 Michelle Carter Blogs and Archives The handwritten note from the DA to the Judge about stopping Dr. Breggin’s blog Toxic Psychiatry Talking Back to Prozac Guilt, Shame and Anxiety: Understanding and Overcoming Negative Emotions Medication Madness: the Role of Psychiatric Drugs in Cases of Violence, Suicide and Murder Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal: A Guide for Prescribers, Therapists, Patients and their Families. To get in touch with us email: podcasts@madinamerica.com © Mad in America 2017

This week, we interview Dr. Rani Bora.  Dr. Bora is a qualified Psychiatrist and Mental Health and Resilience Coach. She has studied a number of approaches to mental well-being – both traditional and non-traditional, and she focuses on holistic approaches to supporting people with their mental wellness. Since deepening her own understanding of the paradigm of ‘Innate Health and Resilience’, she has committed herself to sharing this understanding in her coaching and training and has witnessed remarkable transformation in individuals whom she has supported. In this interview we discuss Dr. Bora’s background in psychiatry, how she came to move away from more traditional psychiatric approaches and the concept of innate health and resilience. In this episode, we discuss: How Dr. Bora graduated from medical school in 1997 and became interested in connecting with people leading to specialising in psychiatry That Rani found working in India as a psychiatrist very different compared to the UK and there were very few community services with most services delivered in a hospital setting That after working in the UK, Dr. Bora became interested in self help and personal development That this led to training in parallel both as a psychiatrist and as a life coach studying Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) and Narrative Coaching That Rani came to see that using tools and techniques as a quick fix can be problematic, because difficulties can re-surface once people stop using the tools and techniques That Innate health and resilience (also known as the three principles) is a new paradigm pointing to the health and wellbeing within all and how the mind works That the three principles are mind, thought and consciousness That Rani sees medication and mindfulness as tools but they don’t really address the root cause of emotional distress That having an understanding about how the mind works can help people to heal from emotional difficulties or trauma That people are more resourceful than they think they are and Rani helps people to discover that resourcefulness within themselves Rani’s mentor, US Psychiatrist Dr. Bill Pettit, reminds us that a diagnosis doesn't define a person, only describes symptoms That people experiencing mental health difficulties are not different to the rest of society, but medicine quite often labels and separates Rani believes that “you cannot fail at being yourself” That if people accept themselves with their perceived flaws and limitations and realise that these individual differences are what make us unique and human, it means less judgement and self criticism That Rani feels that we focus too much on what is lacking in people and on diseases and symptoms That we also focus too much on mental illness rather than mental health That Rani does work with clients who expect medication, but that she often finds other ways to work with people That Rani wants to know the outcome people are looking for and often finds that the medical model has its limitation in helping people with their real needs in life That Rani would like the research to focus more on empowering people and what helps people recover That Rani feels that it’s very important that we also focus on the health of those in the medical community who are supporting others, as the lack of resources can be associated with enormous strain and stress That Rani would like people to reflect on the fact that they are not broken, even given what happened in the past or what diagnoses they have There is something at the core of who we are that cannot be damaged by our experiences To get in touch with us email: podcasts@madinamerica.com © Mad in America 2017

Professor Jim van Os, an influential figure in the field of psychiatry, challenges the notions of biological psychiatry and diagnostic labels. He advocates for patient empowerment, a community-based approach, and the importance of monitoring experiences and tapering off medication in mental health. The episode also highlights the benefits of a shared approach and announces updated medication withdrawal resources.

This week, we interview Kermit Cole. Kermit’s first career was in film and television, directing, amongst others, Living Proof: HIV and the Pursuit of Happiness in 1994. Kermit has undergraduate and master’s degrees in psychology from Harvard and he has over two decades experience working with people in extreme states. He likes to say that he likes to work with trauma, especially when it’s being called something else – such as “psychosis”. Together with his partner Louisa Putnam, he works with couples and families with members who have been labeled as having a mental illness, seeking other ways to understand their struggles – ways that often lead to better outcomes. Kermit has been part of the team at Mad in America since it was founded in January 2012. I was keen to ask Kermit about what led to his interest in therapeutic work, his experiences of supporting those in extreme states and his thoughts on Open Dialogue and dialogical approaches in general. In this episode, we discuss: How Kermit came to be involved with a photo project that aimed to change the dominant image usually portrayed for those with HIV or AIDS and how that led to his 1994 film: Living Proof: HIV and the Pursuit of Happiness How Kermit came to feel that a persons life should not be appraised based on its duration How Kermit went on to make the transition from film maker to supporting others with their mental health and wellbeing That Kermit came to feel that having a camera got in the way of the connection that he wanted to make with people How he went back to study and developed an interest in trauma and its impact on people and came to develop the skills necessary to be comfortable dealing with extreme states  His experiences working on a helpline for people experiencing suicidal thoughts and in a group home setting How it felt to support those in distress without judgement or control, but just being with them and how not being alone sometimes makes a big difference How sometimes supporting someone means not judging but also not colluding with beliefs that may come across as delusional, and how this is different to the approach of trying to medicate away behaviour that has been classified as aberrant That Kermit feels blessed that he could choose between schooling and study or the risk of depression, diagnosis and hospital, but that many are not so fortunate How Kermit and Louisa work together to support people struggling with their mental health through a family therapeutic approach and based on Open Dialog principles That it is important to respond to a network that is in crisis, such as the family unit, rather than a single individual That this approach used in Tornio, Finland resulted in excellent outcomes for patients and a lowering of municipal expenditure on mental health crises  How Louisa and Kermit approach working together in an open dialog model How, if you can find a way for people to safely do what they would naturally want to do, then it can be helpful How Kermit became involved with Mad in America after reading Robert Whitaker’s books That taking medication could almost be viewed as an act of communion That life, being human, hurts, but by learning to connect we can ameliorate the trauma  To listen on Mad in America: https://goo.gl/tyyLmt Podcast show notes: https://goo.gl/AiNFNk To get in touch with us email: podcasts@madinamerica.com © Mad in America 2017

This week, we interview Dr. Pratima Singh. Dr. Singh completed her medical degree in India, before moving to the UK to work at the Maudsley NHS Hospital in London as an adult Psychiatrist. Dr. Singh has a deep interest in alternatives to biological approaches to psychiatry and the use of psychotropic medications. I was keen to ask Dr. Singh about her background, what led her towards psychiatry as a medical speciality and what she feels about the future of psychiatric care. In this episode, we discuss: ▪How Dr. Singh completed her medical degree in India and became interested in psychiatry  ▪That Dr. Singh felt uncomfortable with the predominantly biological approach to psychiatry including the use of medications and that her interest was in psychotherapy as a therapeutic intervention ▪That there is a recruitment and retention problem within psychiatry ▪That 15 years in psychiatry has given Dr. Singh a nuanced and humble attitude to helping people with their mental health ▪That Dr. Singh felt that her discontent with biological psychiatry continued during her training ▪That, in the UK, General Practitioners (family doctors) actually deal with 80% of mental health problems ▪Patients may then be referred by the GP to therapy teams in secondary care, commonly known as Community Mental Health Teams (CMHT) ▪These teams include psychiatrists, occupational health specialists to try and address a range of service user needs ▪That there is also acute care, or crisis teams, where support is given for psychiatric emergencies ▪Recently there has been diversification to include specialisms like eating disorders, learning disabilities or neuropsychiatry but provision differs across the UK ▪That Dr. Singh feels that we have too rapidly and too dramatically cut down the amount of in-patient beds, leaving a gap and increasing the pressure on the community teams ▪That in the UK we struggle to provide a brief intervention model because many service users often require more time ▪That Dr. Singh feels that the majority of people that she sees have already been put onto psychotropic medications by their GP and often this is too early in the process ▪That there are patients now that say they do to want to try medication ▪That the evidence for using so much medication for emotional distress is weak ▪That psychiatrists do not have tests to help predict how a medication will affect a patient or if they will struggle to withdraw ▪That Dr. Singh would like us to understand the medications better especially why some people struggle even if they try to withdraw slowly ▪That, as professionals we need to listen to patients experiences of adverse effects or withdrawal difficulties  ▪That Dr. Singh feels that it is a privilege to be able to engage with patients in this way but that we must be very carful not take advantage or to harm the patient despite our best intentions ▪That we need a completely different mindset to better manage mental health difficulties ▪That Dr. Singh prefers to look at the wider issues in a persons life to try and find the best way to support them including diet, exercise or other potential issues such as metabolic problems or nutritional deficiencies ▪How sometimes a therapeutic relationship can feel like an arranged marriage ▪That a new model would only work if the intervention is early enough in the process, if we engage with people too late, it can be more difficult to help ▪How Dr. Singh remembers her first interaction with a patient and uses this to guide her in listening to the patients own wisdom and experience  ▪That Dr. Singh took some time to undertake a Leadership and Management fellowship and that this really helped her to stand back and appreciate the issues and to listen to the customer ▪That full disclosure and informed consent is so important ▪Functional medicine and how it differs to mainstream psychiatric approaches  ▪That functional medicine is a holistic approach that considers the whole person ▪and underlying root cause of chronic illness ▪In a functional approach there are no specialities ▪The place of recovery colleges in co-producing training in holistic ways of ▪maintaining health ▪That we still tend to think about contemplative practices as something to try rather than a core skill necessary for good mental health ▪That there is not enough evidence to influence a closed mind ▪That many of the best discoveries in medicine come from observation rather than from a laboratory ▪Dr Singh’s hope that psychiatry can return to a place of creativity and openness  To listen on Mad in America: https://goo.gl/tyyLmt Podcast show notes: https://goo.gl/zbxncn To get in touch with us email: podcasts@madinamerica.com © Mad in America 2017

This week, we have an interview with Monica Cassani. Monica has seen the mental health system from both sides – as a social worker and as a person whose life was severely ruptured by psychiatric drugs. She writes critically about the system, as well as holistic pathways of healing without medication.  Monica’s website, Everything Matters Beyond Meds, is comprehensive library of information containing more than 5,000 blog posts, information articles, videos, personal experiences and shares many natural methods of self-care for finding and sustaining health in body, mind and spirit. Her blog also deals with wider issues in the socio/political and spiritual realms as they pertain to mental health and human rights issues surrounding psychiatry. I was keen to ask Monica about her own experiences of the psychiatric system, how a persons sensitivity can be affected by psychiatric treatment and how she helps and supports others to achieve health in body, mind and spirit. In this episode, we discuss: ▪How Monica came to be involved with the psychiatric system ▪How treatment was repeatedly forced on Monica ▪That the lack of information available meant that Monica felt she had no alternatives to the standard model of treatment ▪That she was threatened with committal to a State Asylum ▪How, because of the medications, Monica became non verbal and had difficulty walking ▪The betrayal that Monica felt after trusting and being failed by the medical system ▪How she has been drug free for more than 8 years after being on a substantial cocktail of five different medications for over 25 years ▪That Monica became focussed on getting past the drugs and on her work and took a harm reduction approach to getting off her medications ▪How Monica saw her withdrawal from the drugs as a rebellion and felt emancipated once she was medication free ▪That Monica witnessed clients struggling with the drugs and even, tragically, dying from their effects ▪How Monica views hypersensitivity and its relation to her healing ▪That Monica feels, in some ways, far healthier now than before the drugs but in other respects she feels that she struggles with things that others may find easy ▪That hypersensitivity seems to be common in those who have taken or withdrawn from psychiatric drugs ▪That most in the mental health system do not have the necessary experience to help those who have struggled with their medications ▪How Monica came to set up and invest time in her blog: Everything Matters Beyond Meds ▪How Monica was inspired by the work of the journalist Philip Dawdy and motivated by her family ▪How Everything Matters Beyond Meds combines science and holistic approaches in presenting options for people to support their health and wellbeing ▪That Monica takes a hands off approach to helping  and supporting others because she recognises the coercive nature of medical approaches and respects the right of the individual to choose for themselves ▪How people taking or withdrawing from psychiatric drugs tend to neglect their bodies and that preparation is important before tapering off medications ▪That diet is particularly important when considering withdrawing from psychiatric drugs To listen on Mad in America: https://goo.gl/tyyLmt Podcast show notes: https://goo.gl/oTo3g1 To get in touch with us email: podcasts@madinamerica.com © Mad in America 2017

This week, we have an interview with Will Hall. Will is a mental health advocate, counsellor, writer, and teacher. Will advocates the recovery approach to mental illness and is recognised internationally as an innovator in the treatment and social response to psychosis. In 2001, he co-founded the Freedom Center and from 2004-2009 was a co-coordinator for The Icarus Project. He has consulted for Mental Disability Rights International, the Family Outreach and Response Program,  and the Office on Violence Against Women, and in 2012 presented to the American Psychiatric Association‘s Institute on Psychiatric Services. As an author, Will has written extensively on mental health, social justice, and environmental issues, he is well known for the excellent Harm Reduction Guide to Coming Off Psychiatric Medications which is one of the first places that listeners should look to for help and support when considering taking or withdrawing from psychiatric medications.  Will’s latest book is Outside Mental Health: Voices and Visions of Madness, released in 2016 it presents interviews with more than 60 psychiatric patients, scientists, journalists, doctors, activists, and artists to create a vital new conversation about empowering the human spirit. Outside Mental Health invites us to rethink what we know about bipolar, psychosis, schizophrenia, depression, medications, and mental illness in society. Will also hosts Madness Radio which broadcasts on FM and is also available as a podcast. For listeners, I recommend that you listen in and subscribe to the Madness radio podcast, particularly as the Harm reduction guide to coming off psychiatric medications can be heard in full here. In this episode, we discuss: ▪How Will became involved with the psychiatric system while living in the San Francisco Bay area ▪His experiences of being treated with a wide range of psychiatric drugs ▪How he came to meet with other psychiatric survivors and take control of his own recovery ▪The setting up of the Freedom Centre in Western Massachusetts ▪The creation of the ‘Harm reduction guide to coming off psychiatric drugs’ ▪How this led to Will’s work in counselling, training and education around psychiatric drugs ▪How Will approached collaborating with a wide range of contributors to develop the Harm reduction guide ▪That Will wanted to adopt a careful, non judgemental approach to his work to support people with their medications ▪How Will feels he reached more people because they knew that they weren’t going to be judged ▪That the research and evidence does not support the idea that psychiatric drugs are treating some brain disease or correcting an underlying brain chemical imbalance ▪The fear that exists around these kind of mental health difficulties ▪The dangers of psychiatric drugs ▪That people with lived experience of psychiatric medications need to share their experiences, particularly where withdrawal is concerned ▪That sometimes passivity can contribute to reliance on medications but people need to take their health into their own hands ▪That we should really be looking to a community based approach to supporting people with emotional distress or trauma ▪That we need to create healthy communities that support each other ▪That if people are considering stopping their psychiatric drugs they should make use of the Harm reduction guide because there is no single answer ▪That people should also make sure that they have a support network in place because stopping the drugs can become an isolating experience ▪That drug withdrawal is a life change process not just a chemical change in your brain ▪That psychiatry can make not claim to have answered the mind/body question ▪That fear is a big factor when considering not relying on medication ▪That where withdrawal is concerned, time tends to be on your side if you can get through the discomfort and difficulty   To listen on Mad in America: https://goo.gl/tyyLmt Podcast show notes: https://goo.gl/18cg4L To get in touch with us email: podcasts@madinamerica.com  

This week, we have a special episode to join in with the events being held for World Benzodiazepine Awareness Day. World Benzodiazepine Awareness Day seeks to raise global awareness of iatrogenic benzodiazepine dependence, the dangers of its adverse effects and the associated withdrawal syndrome, which can last for years. To give some context around the issues with Benzodiazepines, we have three interviews in this episode. Firstly we talk to Professor Malcolm Lader who is Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry from Kings College London and is globally recognised as an expert on Benzodiazepines. Following that we talk with Jocelyn Pedersen. Jocelyn is a US based campaigner who shares her own experiences with Benzodiazepines and talks also about her views of the medical response to the issues of dependance and iatrogenic harm. Finally, we talk to Barry Haslam. Barry is a veteran UK campaigner who shares his experiences and also what we should be doing to help those dependant or damaged from use of these medications. Barry has been instrumental in raising awareness and taking action for last 30 years and is well known in political and medical circles. Interview 1, Professor Malcolm Lader In this interview we discuss: ▪Professor Lader’s training in medicine and how he specialised in psychopharmacology and psychiatry ▪That he went on to become involved in research, particularly around tranquilliser dependance and adverse effects ▪How Benzodiazepines were created in the 1950s, replacing Barbiturates because they were generally safer in overdose ▪That the first Benzodiazepine created was Librium (Chlordiazepoxide) soon followed by Valium (Diazepam) ▪That for a time, Valium was the most widely prescribed drug on the planet ▪That the advantages are that Benzodiazepines are relatively safe in overdose but they can result in dependance (likely a 1 in three chance) at therapeutic doses ▪That by 1975, Professor Lader’s Addiction Research Unit at the Maudsley hospital in London were becoming increasingly concerned by the number of people who were being referred to them for specialist help ▪How this led to Professor Lader’s famous quote on a BBC Radio 4 interview that it was “easier to withdraw people from Heroin than from Benzodiazepines” ▪That Opioid withdrawal caused an acute, very unpleasant withdrawal experience but Benzodiazepines caused a protracted withdrawal that was actually more difficult for many people to deal with ▪How they were left with patients who had successfully withdrawn from Opioids like Heroin but were still having trouble with the Benzodiazepines like Ativan ▪How the British Medical Association have only recently become engaged in the issues of dependance and withdrawal to give advice to their members (General Practitioners) ▪That the regulators don’t have sufficient influence to get doctors to prescribe Benzodiazepines in a more responsible way ▪That much of the long term use of psychiatric medications comes down to lack of monitoring of patients by doctors ▪That there have been cases where long term prescribing of Benzodiazepines has been seen to be negligent on the doctors part and that this has led to some out of court settlements ▪That the treatment of dependance is not simple or straight forward so it is much better to educate GPs upfront to intervene before people have the chance to become dependant ▪How we are now repeating some of the same mistakes made with Benzodiazepine prescribing with Opioid analgesics and antidepressants too ▪That the increase in prescribing of psychiatric drugs is partly down to greater recognition of mental health difficulties but also that we do not have enough people trained in non pharmacological interventions ▪That Pharmacists can play a pivotal role in monitoring, advising and supporting patients ▪How Professor Lader became involved in the educational resource the Lader-Ashton organisation ▪That Professor Lader welcomes this second Benzodiazepine Awareness Day because knowledge and education about the related issues is important ▪That people who are currently taking a Benzodiazepine should make themselves aware of the risks and benefits and talk to their prescriber if they are concerned ▪The concerns around the lack of research in this area and that we need ring fenced money to better understand how best to help and support dependant patients ▪That the prediction of the efficacy of psychiatric drugs from biochemistry to animal experiments to human treatment is very poor, so the Pharmaceutical industry is losing interest in psychotropic drugs ▪That psychiatric drugs largely offer symptomatic relief and so their usefulness is limited and we also need to focus on the safety issues Interview 2, Jocelyn Pedersen In this interview we discuss: ▪How Jocelyn first came into contact with benzodiazepines, having had family illness difficulties and finding that she suffered with insomnia but wanting something that was safe to take while pregnant ▪How her doctor recommended the nonbenzodiazepine tranquilliser Ambien (Zolpiden) which Jocelyn used for less than a week because she felt that it was affecting the baby ▪How Jocelyn, after stopping the Ambien even after such a short usage period, found that she couldn’t sleep, couldn’t eat or even do basic things like reading or watching TV ▪That Jocelyn, in trying to explain the wide range of symptoms she was experiencing had a range of physical examinations and tests that all came back negative ▪That doctors explained away her constellation of symptoms as postpartum depression ▪How doctors then prescribed the Benzodiazepine Ativan at 1mg and Effexor, telling her to only take the Ativan until the Effexor ‘kicked in’ ▪That, for Jocelyn, the Effexor never did ‘kick in’ because she was suffering Benzodiazepine withdrawal ▪That upon doubling the dose of Ativan, Jocelyn felt better but she knew that it was only meant for short term use ▪How she found that every time she tried to reduce, even by a small amount like 0.25mg, she was unable to function ▪How three years later, Jocelyn decided it was time to get off the Ativan because she was suffering other health issues ▪How Jocelyn realised that Benzodiazepines like Ativan are teratogens and dangerous in the first months of pregnancy and that being pregnant, Jocelyn had no option but to withdraw ▪That on starting her tapering, Jocelyn was unable to do much else but writhe on the floor in agony, describing even a small reduction as “descending into hell” ▪How Jocelyn’s husband, having found online support groups like Benzo.org.uk realised that what was happening was Benzo withdrawal ▪That Jocelyn, then suffering a miscarriage, ended up in the ER, begging the ER doctor to switch her over to Valium ▪That Jocelyn then spent the next year and a half tapering from Valium ▪How Jocelyn then started to join online support groups, learning how to do a proper taper like that recommended by Professor Heather Ashton ▪That it is very difficult to communicate to friends and family members what is happening, with many assuming it is merely depression or anxiety ▪That it is important to avoid the use of addiction terminology, because people struggling with withdrawal have more in common with those that have a traumatic brain injury or neurological damage ▪That often the only thing between someone and even more suffering is the Benzodiazepine, so it’s not as simple as just wanting to get off ▪That it has been just over two years since Jocelyn finished her taper and there has been considerable improvement but there are still lingering effects ▪That changing her diet made a significant difference to Jocelyn’s health and wellbeing ▪How Jocelyn became involved with campaigning and started her own YouTube channel BenzoBrains ▪How she wanted to be able to add some validity when approaching legislators and lawyers so she founded the Benzodiazepine Information Coalition, a non profit organisation ▪How these and other groups help to educate medical professionals, particularly in terms of avoiding addiction terminology but also to provide guidance on the right approach to take with someone who is dependant ▪How Jocelyn observes some mistakes in how doctors treat those who are iatrogenically harmed, particularly doctors who suddenly stop prescribing because they are worried about the legal aspects, this can leave a dependant person in a very difficult place ▪Secondly while doctors may be cautious about Benzodiazepines, they still readily prescribe other psychiatric medications and even recommend them to treat Benzodiazepine withdrawal effects ▪That a total ban or strict regulation and control of prescribing is an approach which would harm many people who are dependant ▪That what patients need is the proper information to help them successfully and safely get off the drugs ▪That people taking Benzodiazepines shouldn’t be scared by the horror stories but should take time to educate themselves and to accept that the path to being drug free might not be easy but healing is a journey and takes time ▪Jocelyn’s involvement with the forthcoming documentary film: As Prescribed directed by Holly Hardman ▪That much of the funding in this area of research goes to addiction services rather than specifically to help someone who is dependant ▪The difficulty that some people have in accepting that they may be dependant on a prescribed medication ▪The disempowering nature of the message that someone has to take a medication for life and that they have a chronic health condition ▪The message that Jocelyn has for people is that they are capable of more than they know and they can get through the experiences of withdrawal and be stronger for it Interview 3, Barry Haslam In this interview we discuss: ▪How Barry came into contact with Benzodiazepines in 1976 when he had a stress related breakdown due to the combined pressure of working full time  and studying ▪That Barry has no memory of the period 1976 to 1986 and he has had to piece together what happened from medical records and the recollections of family members ▪How a doctor put Barry firstly on Librium (Chlordiazepoxide), followed by a number of antidepressants and also Valium for a time ▪How Barry ended up on a huge dose of 30mg of Ativan (Lorazepam) per day ▪This happened because Barry was experiencing withdrawal effects because of tolerance to the drugs but the doctors didn’t recognise these effects so increased the dosage in response ▪That Barry suffered such powerful daily headaches that he ended up taking 12 opiate painkillers per day in addition to the Ativan ▪That in December 1985, Barry, suffering uncharacteristic aggression, felt that enough was enough and he had to quit the drugs ▪That he had some psychological support when he first started to withdraw but for the majority of the time he did it alone ▪How he dropped from 30mg to 2mg of Ativan in 9 months as well as stopping the opiate painkillers ▪For the last period he transferred to Valium (Diazepam) which took 5 months to come off ▪He did this with no guidance and very little support because the doctors had abandoned him ▪How he experienced many unpleasant physical symptoms including violent daily vomiting, hallucinations, feeling of things crawling under his skin and lost half of his bodyweight ▪How Barry feels that it was the love and support of his wife and family that got him through that 15 months of hell ▪That there is virtually nowhere for people struggling with withdrawal to go to get help and support ▪That these issues receive far less attention and funding than alcohol or nicotine dependance ▪That Barry feels that the health services are too frightened of litigation and that prevents them from directly addressing theses issues ▪How Barry joined an organisation called Oldham Tranx, a peer support group run by drug dependant patients and how Barry became chairman ▪How the local paper, the Oldham Chronicle supported Barry in his campaigning ▪How Addiction Dependency Solutions (now called One Recovery) started to help people in 2004 and is the first NHS funded facility in the UK ▪That we should get Government policy makers in the Department of Health to issue guidance to all local Clinical Commissioning Groups to ensure that similar services are set up across the country and in other parts of the world too ▪We should introduce peer support groups based on the model already in place in Oldham ▪How Professor Heather Ashton ran a withdrawal clinic in Newcastle for twelve years and learned a great deal from the patients experiences ▪That putting these services in place would save lives, Barry estimates that in the UK alone 20,000 lives have been lost since 1960 due to suicide, poisoning and road traffic accidents related to Benzodiazepine use ▪How Barry missed out on his daughters growing up because of the memory loss caused by the drugs up but now can enjoy seeing his three grandchildren grow into adults ▪How Barry has met so many good people in the community of those who needed help and support and that gives him the drive to continue campaigning ▪That even many years after the drugs have been stopped, they can continue to cause a range of health problems ▪That we need hard, clinical evidence of the damage cause by Benzodiazepine drugs as part of the evidence base for future legislative action ▪That this is national problem and needs to be tackled by national governments ▪That dependant patients should continue to put their experience back into the system and that will help society ▪Barry’s wish to have recognised the selfless and tireless work of Professor Heather Ashton including her withdrawal protocols that are used worldwide and that the British Government have never formally recognised her great service and the lives that she saved ▪That every doctors surgery should have a copy of Professor Asthon’s Benzodiazepine withdrawal manual ▪That Barry wants to pay tribute to all of those who have taken their own lives because of Benzodiazepines, either because the horrors of withdrawal or the increased suicidal thinking To listen on Mad in America: https://goo.gl/tyyLmt Podcast show notes: https://goo.gl/QU9XLU To get in touch with us email: podcasts@madinamerica.com © Mad in America 2017

This week on the Mad in America podcast, we talk to Dr. Maureen (Mo) Hannah.  Mo is a Professor of Psychology at Siena College, New York, where she has taught since 1992. She is a licensed New York State psychologist practicing with older adolescents and adults. Mo is an Advanced Imago Relationship therapy Clinician and serves as an Academic Faculty member of Imago Relationships International. Her clinical and research interests revolve around couples therapy, intimate partner violence, and transpersonal psychology. She serves as the Editor of Family and Interpersonal Violence Quarterly and has published seven books and numerous chapters and articles. In 2004, she co-founded and continues to serve as Chair of the annual Battered Mothers Custody Conference. In this episode, we discuss: ▪Mo’s experiences with the psychiatric system, both personally and professionally ▪How poor care in the mental health system led to an unexpected and devastating family loss ▪That Mo feels that her families needs and views were not taken into account when discussing treatment for her elder daughter, Monique ▪The difficulties that parents encounter when a child is old enough to be covered by HIPAA laws, meaning that treatment is not discussed with parents ▪How Alex, Mo’s younger daughter, was put onto antidepressants following the loss of her sister but she had little to no intervention to ensure that the drugs were the right treatment for her ▪That Doctors do not tell patients about withdrawal effects when stopping psychiatric drugs ▪That Alex suffered profound withdrawal effects 3-4 months after she had ceased the drugs, one of the worst issues being extreme insomnia but also anxiety, obsessive thinking and guilt ▪That it was very clear these were drug related effects and not a mental health problem ▪That Doctors should be better informed so they can help their patients make an informed choice about drug treatment ▪That Mo used to be more open to drug therapy discussions with her patients but she  now is very cautious to warn people about potential effects and impacts of withdrawal ▪That Mo has also changed her teaching approach to ensure that her students understand that the view of antidepressant drugs that we have been sold is not the reality that many experience ▪That the view of the drugs as safe, effective and non addictive is too simplistic ▪Mo’s own experiences with Prozac and finding that her own withdrawal was difficult but not as bad as she had witnessed with Alex, and that our experiences of withdrawal can vary widely ▪How Alex had also sought treatment outside the mental health system, in a naturally oriented facility, but still found that knowledge of how to support someone in withdrawal was virtually non existent ▪That Alex is now recovering, but it is a slow process ▪People going through withdrawal need family and friends support and probably not go near a treatment facility ▪Mo’s experience of the ‘biological model’ of psychiatry in her Doctoral clinical internship training and how dominant that message was ▪That people should think long and hard before committing to an antidepressant, they should research the pros and cons and look into all the available non drug options for help first To listen on Mad in America: https://goo.gl/tyyLmt Podcast show notes: https://goo.gl/DD9nMY To get in touch with us email: podcasts@madinamerica.com   © Mad in America 2017

This week on the Mad in America podcast, we talk to Jim Gottstein, president and founder of the organisation Law Project for Psychiatric Rights. Jim talks to us about his own experiences with the psychiatric system, patient rights in mental healthcare and the recent trial between Wendy Dolin and the UK Pharmaceutical manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline. In this episode, we discuss: Jim’s experiences growing up in Alaska How Jim became involved with the psychiatric system That Jim was told he was mentally ill and he needed drugs for the rest of his life and would never be able to practice law again How found a Psychiatrist who told him that anyone who doesn’t sleep could become psychotic and that he could manage the problem How his experience with the psychiatric system changed the focus of his life About his involvement in a case involving the State of Alaska stealing a million acre land trust for the “mentally ill” That the book ‘Mad in America‘ by Robert Whitaker provided a litigation roadmap for challenging forced psychiatric drugging How Jim formed the organisation Law Project for Psychiatric Rights (PsychRights) to mount a strategic legal campaign against forced drugging and Electroshock in the USA How the number of people detained or forcibly treated in the mental health system is dramatically out of step with the reality demonstrated by Open Dialog and Soteria type approaches That changing public attitudes to the hidden parts of the mental healthcare system is very important How cases can arise very rapidly, requiring almost immediate response which is sometimes difficult That the deck is really stacked against the patient because they are having to defend themselves against medical professionals and their lawyers while they have no credibility because they are charged with being mentally ill The events in the trial between the widow of Stuart Dolin and the UK Pharmaceutical manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline That it was a legal first because Wendy Dolin sued the manufacturer of the brand name drug, Paxil, even though Stuart Dolin was taking the generic version of the drug manufactured by Mylan How Wendy Dolin’s lawyers came up with a common law negligence claim against GSK that GSK had a duty to provide accurate information about the drug How GSK manipulated the science of the clinical trials to downplay the suicide risk That Dr. Joseph Glenmullen and Dr. David Healy were key expert witnesses That the jury unanimously found GSK guilty of withholding information That GSK have stated their intention to appeal the verdict How the appeal process will work Why we shouldn’t trust what Pharmaceutical manufacturers tell us about clinical trials The lack of informed consent where the prescribing of psychiatric drugs is concerned That outcomes for patients who have either not taken, or withdrawn from, antipsychotic drugs are much better than for those who continue with the drugs To listen on Mad in America: https://goo.gl/tyyLmt Podcast show notes: https://goo.gl/QpjVsA To get in touch with us email: podcasts@madinamerica.com © Mad in America 2017