A Mother’s Story of Love, Loss, and a Fight Born from Tragedy by Charay Gadd-Spencer My daughter, London Izabella-Ryén Gadd, was only 12 years old when she tragically died from an overdose of pills, shortly after being prescribed an SSRI.

Groupthink in Mainstream and Critical Psychiatry By Richard Moldawsky, MD "Critical psychiatry should continue to point out where mainstream psychiatry falls short, but it’s primarily mainstream psychiatry’s responsibility to correct itself." buff.ly/mz07l4i

AI Undermines Medical Education—Trainee Doctors May Never Learn Vital Skills By Peter Simons Will the ubiquity of chatbots lead to a generation of doctors who don’t know their stuff? That’s the danger, according to a new editorial in BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine. buff.ly/CBjSHYE

Song of the Week: My War (Boku no Sensou) by Shinsei Kamattechan buff.ly/UcEnihu If you would like to share a song that relates to your experience of psychiatry or your thoughts about it, you can send it in here: buff.ly/98YgC1c

Harm for Profit: Are Nursing Homes Drugging Residents to Avoid Paying for Adequate Staffing? By Richard Sears Widespread antipsychotic use in nursing homes harms elderly residents, but better-trained and adequately staffed facilities rely less on these dangerous drugs. buff.ly/8BdO2sz

Weekly Research Digest by Richard Sears www.madinamerica.com/2026/01/week... Recent studies examine how bullying, social media use, and antidepressant treatment influence suicide risk and mental health in adolescents and young adults.

My Escape From the Disabling Power of Disability Benefits by Matthew McWade

Chris Masterjohn joins our #podcast to discuss how studying mitochondria could lead to a potential new understanding of #antidepressant withdrawal. Read or listen on Mad in America: 🎧 buff.ly/ABR9cvE

Did the FDA Black Warning Cause Suicides? Reply to Soumerai and Lu By Patrick Hahn The idea that the FDA black box warning led to increased suicide is just as easily refuted by the data now as when it was first proposed. buff.ly/Hdqho4k

Poem of the Week: One Little Pill For One Little Ill! by ArrA

This week's featured artwork: Native Wisdom by Sanmari Steenkamp buff.ly/VpkZCuL

Exercise for Depression: As Good as Therapy or Antidepressants By Peter Simons With fewer adverse effects and many benefits beyond depression treatment, exercise may be a better option than therapy or antidepressants. buff.ly/sCUjm9o

Doing Harm: The Human Cost of Turning Mourning Into a Disorder By Richard Sears New research finds most bereaved people reject psychiatric grief diagnoses, viewing grief as a normal expression of love rather than mental "illness." buff.ly/pXETvHn

Weekly Research Digest: Bad Research, Unsupported Beliefs, and Sleep Apnea By Richard Sears Antidepressant research questions withdrawal severity, a study of unsupported biological beliefs about mental “illness,” and research linking sleep apnea to poor mental health. buff.ly/rMohHs6

Leaving Psychiatry: Two Weeks In, 10 Years to Exit by Alex F. buff.ly/H6M5W0H At roughly two and a half years sober, I had made up my mind. And with permission from my psychiatrist, I tapered off seven drugs over the next two years.

On our latest #podcast discussion, Jan DeFehr argues that ethical practice requires access to what the field itself disputes, including the risks people rarely hear about. #Psychology #InformedChoice

As States Expand Psychiatric Detention, Research Shows Elevated Suicide Risk by Richard Sears A nationwide Swedish study reveals markedly higher suicide rates following involuntary psychiatric detention. www.madinamerica.com/2026/01/as-s...

Weekly Research Digest: 1/9/2025 Richard Sears reviews recent studies that demonstrate how technology, trauma, and social pressures intensify the everyday challenges of living with psychosis. buff.ly/L6UWJDp

The Sermon on the Balcony at Bùi Viện by JL A psychotic narrative doesn’t have to scare you. It doesn’t have to inspire you. It simply exists as a narrative, like all of the other narratives. It is the story of a person who experienced something remarkable, and remarkably human.

In our first #podcast of 2026, Robert Whitaker answers questions from Mad in America readers. We discuss #ADHD diagnoses, withdrawal and sexual dysfunction risks of #SSRI antidepressants, the harms of #ECT, the rise of AI-generated misinformation and more. www.madinamerica.com/2026/01/adhd...

To Be Agents of Our Own Treatment: Demedicalization at the Heart of the Inner Compass Initiative Conference By Jennifer Gaita Siciliano We are fighting for transparency, accountable science, and the right of the common person to informed consent. buff.ly/F41yQyH

Case Studies Contradict Accepted Wisdom About AI Psychosis By Peter Simons Many of those who experience AI psychosis have no psychiatric diagnosis, but were experiencing social and environmental stressors, isolation, and lack of sleep. www.madinamerica.com/2026/01/case...

Psychiatry’s Rightwing and Progressive Bigotries: How Each Enables the Megamachine by Bruce Levine, PhD Whether in Nazi fascism, Soviet totalitarian communism, or U.S. corporate capitalism, psychiatry has been an enabler of the megamachine. buff.ly/khM8elD

Mad in America’s 10 Most Popular Articles in 2025 A roundup of Mad in America's most read blogs and personal stories of 2025 as chosen by our readers. www.madinamerica.com/2025/12/mad-...

In Defense of Instability in Mental Health Recovery by Megan Evans Limiting someone’s dreams based on a professional opinion of what is possible for people with serious mental illnesses is misguided at best. www.madinamerica.com/2025/12/in-d...

Anti-inflammatory Drugs Fail for Depression by Peter Simons Response and remission rates failed to beat placebo in a new Harvard meta-analysis, throwing the inflammation hypothesis into question. buff.ly/rTGarSF

The Missing History of Children’s Mental Health in Oregon by Robert Nikkel, MSW It seems fitting that this history of mental health ends with Oregon’s attempt to grapple with the needs of children and families. www.madinamerica.com/2025/12/the-...

All in the Family: My Unlikely Connection To Nick, Rob and Michele Reiner by Issa Ibrahim As a certified paranoid schizophrenic who inadvertently took my own mother’s life while going through my first major psychotic breakdown, I feel a great deal of empathy toward Nick Reiner.

This week’s Song of the Week is an interpretation of “Little Drummer Boy,” performed by Nik Strait. May all our readers find some moments of comfort and peace this holiday season.

The Gentrification of Social Work: Why a “Political Mental Health” Must be Public by Darragh Sheehan It's hypocrisy to speak of equity and advocacy yet remain silent about the changes within that privilege affluent communities/professionals. www.madinamerica.com/2025/12/the-...

Addressing the Twofold Mental Health Crisis in New York City by Caleb Scott The focus on crisis work displaces our attention and resources onto the symptomatic rather than the essential issues. www.madinamerica.com/2025/12/addr...

Harvard’s Health and Human Rights introduces a section titled “Institutional Corruption and Human Rights in Mental Health,” examining how systemic, profit-driven, and colonial power structures have undermined human rights–based mental health care globally www.madinamerica.com/2025/12/when...

Reconsidering Recovery in Mental Health Care Davidson and Jørgensen argue that “recovery” should mean a meaningful life, not a clean symptom chart. By Ally Riddle -

Severe Anxiety Vastly Improves After Minimal Treatment More than half of participants remitted after digital education about anxiety, while more than three-quarters remitted after digital CBT. buff.ly/89E3GaR

Childhood Trauma and Recent Stressors Rarely Addressed; ECT Given Instead by John Read Mental health services force electroshock, rarely asking about causes like childhood adversities and recent stressors; few receive therapy. buff.ly/JMaPTuW

Pills for Everyone: How Psychiatry Failed Me by Amaal Zaki After trying different antidepressants, I realized that none of them worked for me. Every pill came with a cost far higher than the relief it promised.

We Must Stop the ADHD Prescribing Cascade, Not Perpetuate It Gretchen LeFever Watson & David Antonuccio There is no scientific evidence base for routine use of multiple psychiatric drugs, particularly for children. www.madinamerica.com/2025/12/we-m...

Learning to Soar: A Conversation With Artist Kev G Mor MIA Podcast Interview by Brooke Siem Musician and artist Kev G Mor joins us to discuss his experience of psychosis, his daily support strategies, and having a pit bull for emotional support. buff.ly/sftjU2d

A qualitative study of international key informants argues that mental health laws may be inherently discriminatory, making abolition a serious, not fringe, legal question. By Samantha Lilly www.madinamerica.com/2025/12/abol...

Beyond Pleasure: A Developmental View of Addiction by John Martin Sometimes addiction has more to do with the ability to tolerate day-to-day life without the substance: self-regulation. www.madinamerica.com/2025/12/beyo...

How a New Framework Could Change the Way Psychology Measures Mental Health Researchers say psychological assessment may influence people more than it measures them. By Abby Cartus www.madinamerica.com/2025/12/how-...

Antidepressant “Maintenance Treatment” Not Required: Slow Tapering with Support Works Questions remain about best practices for discontinuation strategies, and the distinction between relapse and withdrawal was not defined. By Peter Simons www.madinamerica.com/2025/12/anti...

Song of the Week: Antidepressant Blues by RainFall (David Antonuccio and Michael Pierce)

Poem of the Week: Sanctuary by Jonathan Scott buff.ly/8sMVCgO

Featured Artwork: Inpatient Tears by Mina P buff.ly/p5ZZL9H

New NEJM Editorial on Antidepressants and Pregnancy Misses the Mark by Adam Urato, MD The NEJM opinion piece ignores basic science, common sense, and decades of research findings in making the case for SSRIs in pregnancy. www.madinamerica.com/2025/12/new-...

Become an MIA supporter! Get access to all science news, MIA report content and get free access to all MIA webinars. Subscribe for as little as $20 per year or $5 per month. buff.ly/J9VwQmP

A Story of (Lack of) Self-Determination by Janice Young Even geriatric patients who have limited cognitive abilities have the right to make their own health care decisions. Why should mental health patients have less?

A special issue, introduced by G. Eric Jarvis and Laurence Kirmayer, shows how religious worlds can soften grief or deepen shame, depending on the histories and power relations that surround them.

Medication-Free Treatment in Norway Found Effective Over the Short Term by Robert Whitaker “Viable alternatives to [treatment as usual] may exist, particularly regarding the role of medication in mental health care,” the study authors wrote. buff.ly/TrlKXpZ