Category: DSM

Mystical experiences, spiritual emergency, madness etc…a compilation

"Spiritual crisis (also called "spiritual emergency") is a form of identity crisis where an individual experiences drastic changes to their meaning system (i.e., their unique purposes, goals, values, attitude and beliefs, identity, and focus) typically because of a spontaneous spiritual experience. A spiritual crisis may cause significant disruption in psychological, social and occupational functioning. Among the spiritual experiences thought to lead to episodes of spiritual crisis or spiritual emergency are psychiatric complications related to existential crisis, mystical experience, near-death experiences, Kundalini syndrome, paranormal experiences, religious ecstasy and meditation or other spiritual practices...

Let’s make “MAKE ME NORMAL” happen!

An email from Mitch the director and producer of the film. If you can't contribute monetarily you can pass the info on to others who might be able to. Happy Sunday! Live from shooting in Detroit, exciting news! With just 4 days left on our Indiegogo campaign, a "MYSTERY DONOR" has pledged $10,000 to MAKE ME NORMAL ($6500... Continue Reading →

This is how mental health professionals argue against informed consent

Graphic reads the worst thing about being lied to is kinowing you weren't worth the truth informed consent

MHP: It can be questioned as to whether this was the best forum for such a speech as family members and patients were present. Would this be better served to have been presented only to professionals to prevent patients from grasping onto this view as a reason to stop their medications? ME: yeah...lets keep on infantilizing everyone...they can't handle the truth, right? Can't make analytical choices or listen to debate? This is exactly what has been wrong with mental health treatment as currently practiced....the truth is routinely withheld and people cannot make informed choices. It's nothing short of criminal when considered from that stand point. Some of us have been gravely harmed because we were not given choices. That's why we're motivated to share the whole truth...then people can decide what risks they want to take or not. MHP: Monica, some people really can't handle the truth, make analytical choices or listen to debate precisely because of their mental illness. On the other hand, many can despite any mental illness. That is what makes balance in this field so difficult to achieve. ME: I was a social worker for many years in social services with the "seriously mentally ill." The only people I routinely dealt with who couldn't handle the truth were some of my colleagues and the administrators...that was my experience. And it continues to be my experience now. Mental health professionals are often terrified of the truth to the detriment of those they serve.

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Book of Woe: The DSM and the Unmaking of Psychiatry, Gary Greenberg (Madness Radio)

Why did the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual become so controversial? Is it possible to alleviate human suffering without classifying it as a mental disorder? Gary Greenberg, psychotherapist, author of Manufacturing Depression and The Book of Woe: The DSM and the Unmaking of Psychiatry, and journalist for Harper's, the New Yorker, and Rolling Stone, discusses the politics behind psychiatry's new Bible. … [click on title for the rest of the post]

Redefining mental illness — Robert Whitaker and Allen Frances on Al Jazeera TV (video included)

Inside Story Americas, with presenter Shihab Rattansi, discusses with guests: Dr Allen Frances, former chair of the psychiatry department at Duke University and author of the book Saving Normal; and Robert Whitaker, a journalist and author of the book Anatomy of an Epidemic. … [click on title for the rest of the post]

Gary Greenberg, Author of “Book Of Woe: The DSM and the Unmaking of Psychiatry” at Powells Bookstore (audio included)

When I interviewed Gary Greenberg, author of "The Book of Woe: The DSM and the Unmaking of Psychiatry" for Madness Radio last month, I knew it would be great to invite him to an event at Powell's bookstore in Portland. Powell's and Portland Hearing Voices have co-sponsored Robert Whitaker and Ethan Watters in the past, and when Gary got into town we once again filled the store's upstairs lecture room for an awesome and thoughtful evening. … [click on title for the rest of the post]

New social media campaign features stories of individuals who reject psychiatric diagnosis

The Open Paradigm Project, in collaboration with MadinAmerica.com, Occupy Psychiatry, and leading organizations in the movement to reform mental health care, announces a social media campaign showcasing video testimonials by individuals negatively impacted by the traditional psychiatric model, which focuses on pathology and illness rather than wellness and recovery. … [click on title for the rest of the post]

there is no such thing as a monolithic state called depression

depression is always a mixture of many things...there is no such thing as a monolithic state called depression...the fact that people imagine that is the case, is a problem. (includes list of posts to rethink depression) … [click on title for the rest of the post]

DSM5 the latest news and happenings…collected (updating regularly)

A collection of articles on the DSM in the news today and recently. We're watching a house come down!! It looks like the publication of DSMV is -- not at all by design -- turning into a watershed event. … [click on title for the rest of the post]

Mental Health Europe makes important statement about DSM and bio-psychiatry (PRESS RELEASE)

Western psychiatry is in crisis. The direction taken by the new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM 5), due to be published later this week, has received ample criticism. Moreover, in disagreement with the American Psychiatric Association, the United States National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the world’s largest research institute, has announced they will no longer fund projects based exclusively on DSM categories. Unfortunately, while Mental Health Europe considers the NIMH decision to be the right one, by focusing almost entirely on neuroscience and on so-called disorders of the brain, the NIMH is missing out on the critical importance of user experiences to psychiatric research and to the practice of psychiatry. … [click on title for the rest of the post]

Psychiatry under fire in the UK — British Psychological Society takes issue with the bio-medical model

In a groundbreaking move that has already prompted a fierce backlash from psychiatrists, the British Psychological Society's division of clinical psychology (DCP) will on Monday issue a statement declaring that, given the lack of evidence, it is time for a "paradigm shift" in how the issues of mental health are understood. The statement effectively casts doubt on psychiatry's predominantly biomedical model of mental distress – the idea that people are suffering from illnesses that are treatable by doctors using drugs. The DCP said its decision to speak out "reflects fundamental concerns about the development, personal impact and core assumptions of the (diagnosis) systems", used by psychiatry.

Dr Lucy Johnstone, a consultant clinical psychologist who helped draw up the DCP's statement, said it was unhelpful to see mental health issues as illnesses with biological causes.

"On the contrary, there is now overwhelming evidence that people break down as a result of a complex mix of social and psychological circumstances – bereavement and loss, poverty and discrimination, trauma and abuse," … [click title for link]

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