A catalyst for rethinking psychiatric care, scientific research
Welcome to Mad in Canada!
Mad in Canada believes that the current paradigm of mental health care has failed our society and that scientific research, as well as the lived experience of those who have been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder, calls for profound change.
Mad in Canada is dedicated to providing a forum for progressive writing which reconsiders the public discourse on mental health distress in Canada.
Mad in Canada stands in solidarity with First Nations.
Fernando de Freitas: A “Dear Friend” Who Was a Warrior for Radical Change
Written by Robert Whitaker and posted to Mad in America on February 3, 2023
Over the past decade, the call for radical change in psychiatry has grown louder and more organized, and in Latin America,...
Announcing Oral History Collection on Mental Health Activists in Manitoba
Stories are us. Finding ourselves in history, we figure out who we are and where we belong and how what we do fits with the actions of others. Within great diversity there is common...
Kassi’s Mom
Thank you for having me. I walk around angry, jaded and bitter. I am not religious but I have begged bargained and negotiated with any higher power. I am a parent, I am Kassi's...
Freedom To Be – Herstory Writing Workshop
Freedom To Be
A 15-week Herstory Writing Workshop for those harmed by being labelled BPD, hosted by Rebecca Donaldson & The Herstory Writing Network.
When: Sundays, beginning January 15, 2023
Time: 11am to 2pm, Pacific Time
Where: Online...
Rethinking Psychiatry …. Robert Whitaker Speaks in Montreal
Robert Whitaker, founder and president of Mad in America, gave a public lecture at Concordia University on November 10th. 'Rethinking Psychiatry: How the Failure to Identify the Biological Causes of Major Mental Disorders Opens Up...
Responses to the ‘No Chemical Imbalance Study’: A Long-awaited Watershed Moment?
Initial reactions to the 20 July publication of the Moncrieff et al. study have included widespread media coverage in some places, and the metaphorical equivalent of crickets in others.
Here in Canada, even with some...
Loss, Grief, and Betrayal: Psychiatric Survivors Reflect on the Impact of New Serotonin Study
Loss, grief, and a sense of betrayal are felt deeply by many who have been affected by the myth of the chemical imbalance—a myth given so much attention over so many decades that it...
No evidence of a chemical imbalance in depression
The serotonin theory of depression: a systematic umbrella review of the evidence.
Joanna Moncrieff and 5 colleagues undertook a systematic umbrella review of evidence aimed at synthesizing and evaluating evidence on the chemical imbalance theory...
BLOGS
Essays from a diverse selection of writers, which aim to change the professional and public discourse about emotional distress and unusual experiences.
Loss, Grief, and Betrayal: Psychiatric Survivors Reflect on the Impact of New Serotonin Study
Loss, grief, and a sense of betrayal are felt deeply by many who have been...
No evidence of a chemical imbalance in depression
The serotonin theory of depression: a systematic umbrella review of the evidence.
Joanna Moncrieff and 5...
NEW VIDEO: Antidepressant Withdrawal Syndrome & its Management
The International Institute for Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal has released a new video: 'Antidepressant Withdrawal Syndrome...
Evidence of change?
Working outside the dominant biomedical narrative can feel perilous and sometimes even risky. Taking a...
Thomas Insel Makes A Case for Abolishing Psychiatry
Thomas Insel’s book Healing: Our Path From Mental Illness to Mental Health is getting a...
Review of the Conference on Withdrawal and Side Effects: IIPDW
The online conference Withdrawal From Psychiatric Drugs was held on Friday May 6th and 7th....
What is “Psychosis”?
There are different hypotheses about what psychosis is. One hypothesis that has been repeatedly disproven...
New NICE Guidelines for ECT Are Dangerously Inadequate, Say 50 Patients and Professionals
While there has been little (if any) sign of interest in reviewing ECT practices and...
Personality disorders? Please, tell us what you really think.
This week on Twitter, there was an uproar in response to a UK Royal College...
Antipsychotics Often Prescribed Without Informed Consent
This article was written by Samantha Lilly and originally published by Mad in America, March...
Voicing the Views of the Psychiatrized for 35 Years!
Our Voice is turning 35!
2022 marks an important milestone in the publishing of resiliency and...
887 Deaths from Psychoactive Meds Reported to Health Canada in 2021
I guess I started seriously considering the potential of antipsychotics to kill after I lost...
Personal Narratives
News
Call for inputs: Draft guidance on Mental Health, Human Rights, and Legislation published jointly by WHO and OHCHR https://www.ohchr.org/en/calls-for-input/calls-input/draft-guidance-mental-health-human-rights-legislation-who-ohchr
The Supreme Court rules that the Council of Canadians with Disabilities can challenge British Columbia’s mental health laws. https://www.scc-csc.ca/case-dossier/cb/2022/39430-eng.aspx
Canada is getting a mental health and addictions ministry.
Mary Simon, Inuk leader from Kuujjuaq, Nunavik, has been chosen as the 30th governor general of Canada.
Noel Milliea, a Mi’kmaw elder, has decades of experience helping people see their culture as a means of healing from trauma, addiction, and systemic racism.
751 unmarked graves have been found at the site of the former Marieval Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan. The school, which opened in 1899, was active until 1997.
The remains of 215 children were found on the site of a former residential school in Kamloops, BC. In the wake of the discovery, and to honour the children, David Monture has written a poem, The Mush Hole Rubric.
In the wake of the discovery of the 215, many are calling for accountability. Listen to an interview on The Current with Matt Galloway.
New on Mad in America
Psychiatry, Fraud, and the Case for a Class-Action Lawsuit
Trauma Survivors Speak Out Against Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
Is Mad in America Doing More Harm Than Good?
Ethical Concerns Over Telehealth Screenings for Psychiatric Hospitalizations
Getting Pharma Out of Medical Education: An Interview with Dr. Adriane Fugh-Berman
‘Prescripticide’: Short Film by ISEPP
Discourse, Drug Use, and Psychiatry: An Interview with Critical Psychologist Ilana Mountian
Modern Psychiatry’s Allure: It Tells People What They Want to Hear
My Letter to an Advocate for Involuntary Treatment
Psychosis in US Inseparable from Racism and Structural Inequality, Researchers Argue
Mental Health Liberation and Spirituality: Ex-Psychiatric Inmates Share Their Thoughts
Can Performative Counter-Storytelling Facilitate Critical Social Change?
Joint Statement on COVID-19 and Persons with Psychosocial Disabilities
Mental Health Survival Kit, Chapter 4: Withdrawing from Psychiatric Drugs (Part 3)
Philosophical Approach to Loneliness Yields new Insight into Treatments
Mutual Support in an Age of Social Distancing
Jyl Ion: Awakening as a Medium
Other Resources
A list of groups and resources that you may find helpful. Let us know of other resources that we should consider adding. Contact us by email: info@madincanada.org. Thanks!
Mad in America – Mad in America’s mission is to serve as a catalyst for rethinking psychiatric care in the United States (and abroad).
The Council for Evidence-Based Psychiatry – CEP exists to communicate evidence of the potentially harmful effects of psychiatric drugs to the people and institutions in the UK that can make a difference.
A Disorder 4 Everyone – Exploring the culture of psychiatric diagnosis – creating change. Provides events, blogs and other resources.
Drop the Disorder (Facebook) – a group for anyone who is interested in challenging traditional approaches to emotional distress.
Intervoice – The International Hearing Voices Network and HVN Canada & Quebec – If you hear voices, HVN can help and is committed to helping people who hear voices. HVN offers information, support and understanding to people who hear voices and those who support them.
International Society for Psychological and Social Approaches to Psychosis (UK) – ISPS UK is the United Kingdom network of the International organisation ISPS – International Society for Psychological and Social Approaches to Psychosis. ISPS works to promote greater knowledge of the different psychological approaches to psychosis and psychotic experiences – psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioural, arts-based, family and holistic approaches – and their better integration with each other and with pharmaceutical approaches.
The Inner Compass Initiative and Withdrawal Project – provides information, resources, tools, and connecting platforms to facilitate more informed choices regarding all things “mental health”.
International Institute for Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal – Supports the process of reducing and withdrawing from psychiatric drugs through practice, research and training.
MindFreedom International – A not-for-profit human rights organization that unites sponsor and affiliate grassroots groups with individual members.
The Power Threat Meaning Framework – Towards the identification of patterns in emotional distress, unusual experiences and troubled or troubling behaviour, as an alternative to functional psychiatric diagnosis.
A free-to-use guide to the healing of psychological trauma is available. It comprises information, approaches to healing and resources together with links to selected clinicians, organisations, projects and support groups. Download the pdf here: Healing Psychological Trauma