Mad In America: Science, Psychiatry And Social Justice

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 a

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 c

 This week, we interview Professor Jim van Os. Professor van Os is Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Psychology at Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, The Netherlands, and Visiting Professor of Psychiatric Epidemiology at King’s College, Institute of Psychiatry, London.  He trained in Psychiatry in Casablanca, Bordeaux and the Institute of Psychiatry and the Maudsley Royal Hospital in London. In 2011, he was elected member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW); he appears on the 2014 Thomson-Reuter Web of Science list of the world’s most influential scientific minds of our time. He is Director of Psychiatric Services at Maastricht University Medical Centre and runs a service for treatment-resistant depression and first episode psychosis. I was keen to ask professor van Os about his views on biological psychiatry, why we should sometimes challenge schizophrenia, psychosis and other diagnostic terminology and how he sees the future of mental healthcare. In this ep

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 invol

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 disconte

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

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

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.

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

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 force