Mad In America

05/30/2026

The Psychiatric Fraud That is a Plague on Us All
by Robert Whitaker on the Mad in America Substack

The evidence cited for the effectiveness of antidepressants is a product of scientific misconduct. The STAR*D study is a story of research fraud, one that for the past two decades has grossly misled the public about the effectiveness of antidepressants.

The study's 3% stay-well rate is a long way from a claim of 70% becoming symptom free. Even today, if this figure were made known to the public, the societal focus would not be on “overprescribing” of otherwise effective drugs, but rather on whether antidepressants are in fact “effective” at all.

The Evidence Cited for The Effectiveness of Antidepressants is a Product of Scientific Misconduct

05/30/2026

On My Way to Norway with Julia Greenberg and Dory Previn
By Karin Jervert & Julia Greenberg

Dory Previn wrote brilliant, disturbing, and darkly funny songs in the 1970s. She first gained recognition as an Academy Award–nominated lyricist for Hollywood musicals before a tabloid scandal and public breakdown led to her re-emergence as a cult artist within the Laurel Canyon music scene.

Dory’s eloquent reflections on her relationship with the voices she heard anticipated the burgeoning Hearing Voices and Mad Pride movements, both of which are reshaping contemporary understandings of mental health.

Dory’s eloquent reflections on her relationship with the voices she heard anticipated the burgeoning Hearing Voices and Mad Pride movements.

05/29/2026

Our Mad in America affiliate, Mad in Norway, is hosting an international film festival from September 24-26 in Lillehammer, Norway. Each week, we will feature a film. This week is Medicating Normal. Millions of people worldwide are physically dependent on common psychiatric drugs. Although these may help some people in the short term, they also cause dangerous side effects and damage with long-term use, which drug companies have concealed from both doctors and patients. “Medicating Normal” follows a newlywed couple, a female war veteran, a waitress, and a teenager who were harmed by the drugs they thought would help them. This is the story of what can happen when profit-driven medicine meets people in crisis. https://www.madinamerica.com/2026/05/mad-in-norway-international-film-festival-film-review-medicating-normal/

05/29/2026

From Mad in Canada: Have you ever been prescribed an antidepressant? And, are you an adult, who lives in Canada? If so, we want to hear from you!

In the fall of 2025 Mad in Canada started the process of investigating the topic of informed consent to treatment and the prescription of psychiatric medications. Our interest in this topic was inspired by years of anecdotal evidence collected by members of our editorial team. It’s been our collective experience that the process of providing people with the opportunity to give informed consent to treatment when they are prescribed psychiatric medications is often incomplete, or even rare. We’ve also found evidence (gathered anecdotally and through research publications) that suggests greater understanding among prescribers and users, about the nature of psychiatric medications, is needed. Because antidepressants are the most commonly prescribed class of psychiatric medications, we’ve decided to focus on them. https://www.madinamerica.com/2026/05/calling-all-people-who-have-been-prescribed-and-antidepressant/

05/29/2026

Open Dialogue Studies Highlight Collaboration, Clinician Support, and Stable Costs
By Richard Sears

New research finds improved trust, collaboration, and clinician satisfaction—but ongoing resistance from conventional mental health systems.

This week Mad in America examines three studies related to the Open Dialogue approach in mental healthcare. Open Dialogue is a mental health approach New research finds improved trust, collaboration, and clinician satisfaction—but ongoing resistance from conventional mental health systems.

05/28/2026

The conversation around mental health is changing. We’re honoured that the Mad in America: Rethinking Mental Health has now surpassed 1.5 million downloads. Thank you for helping amplify more humane, thoughtful, and questioning conversations about .

We’d love you to join us. Find us on your preferred client here: pod.link/1212789850

05/28/2026

When I Lost the Plot: A PTSD Implosion
by Lisa Saylor Gentry

I am now on the other side of what I believe to have been delusions as a side product of severe dissociation. I was working with a therapist to redirect my intrusive thoughts but I think I used the power of suggestion too strongly. I’m supposed to redirect my mind and hold on to reality, not redirect my mind and create a whole new reality. I hope practice makes perfect with this technique.

I might have been in the grips of insanity, but I wasn’t unaware that something wasn’t right.

05/27/2026

From Mad in South Asia: With the passing of the draconian Trans Rights Amendment Act (2026), the q***r community and its allies need to stand together in solidarity. The recently passed act is dehumanising because it prevents trans people from determining their own gender identity. It rolls back rights previously conferred to the community under the 2014 NALSA judgement and criminalizes medical professionals and kinship networks who extend their support to trans people.

The outcry of rage from the community, the mass protests and organised dissent across the country have been moving and significant to witness. Resistance has taken many forms – from designers and writers creating art in dissent, the community organizing safehouses for trans people who were evicted from their homes, to lawyers and mental health professionals stepping up and providing accessible support to the community.https://www.madinamerica.com/2026/05/imperfect-solidarities-showing-up-as-you-are-is-better-than-not-showing-up-at-all/

05/27/2026

On our , we are joined by therapist Marsha Zaritsky, who talks of her experiences of withdrawing from a cocktail of psychiatric drugs, including and . She discusses how overmedication is a real concern for women going through .

"I just want off. It's an interesting thought I have about aging lately, I think it's like I want to meet death unmedicated."

Marsha Zaritsky is a licensed mental health therapist certified in Internal Family Systems. She joins us to explain how her experience with polypharmacy and psychiatric drug withdrawal has changed and informed how she practices.

05/26/2026

Genotype-Guided Antidepressant Selection: Has Precision Psychiatry Arrived?
by Peter Simons on the Mad in America Substack

Genetic testing to guide antidepressant selection is already being sold to the public, but the evidence is less than convincing. A new study failed to show efficacy in its primary outcome, its secondary outcomes imply a potential benefit for only 2% of patients, and it contradicts the findings of a previous study, leaving interpretation uncertain.

https://substack.com/home/post/p-198749649

05/26/2026

From Mad in Ireland: With a key decision fast approaching, the future direction of mental health policy in Europe is at a critical turning point. On 27 May, the draft Additional Protocol to the Oviedo Convention will be discussed at the Rapporteur Group on Human Rights of the Committee of Ministers. For Mental Health Europe and its partners, this moment represents a final opportunity to ensure that coercive practices are not further embedded in European law.

For more than a decade, the proposal has faced sustained opposition from persons with disabilities, civil society organisations, UN bodies, and human rights experts. At the heart of this concern is the risk that the protocol could legitimise coercive practices in mental health care, undermining dignity, autonomy, and the shift toward more inclusive, rights-based systems. Browser translations are available. https://www.madinamerica.com/2026/05/the-withdraw-oviedo-campaign-team-at-mental-health-europe-call-to-action-on-the-oviedo-convention/