Review of “Beyond Reason. Chronicle of a personal experience of madness”
This book review is reprinted from Mad in Argentina. ‘Beyond reason’, with a foreword by RD Laing, was published in 1964 and describes the...
MAID and Mental Illness: An interview with Dr. Jeffrey Kirby
Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) became legal in Canada in June 2016.
In October 2020, Bill C-7: An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical...
The Price of Breaking the Silence of Abuse: Dignity, Justice and Recovery
This piece was written by Laura López-Aybar and was originally published in Spanish on Mad in Puerto Rico
We live in a culture of silence,...
Part 4 Neurodiversity: New paradigm or Trojan Horse?
This is Part 4 of the four-part series on neurodiversity that is being jointly published by Mad in America and Mad in the UK....
Are Patients Being Paid to Provide Industry Endorsements?
Dr. Joel Lexchin is Professor Emeritus in the School of Health Policy and Management, Faculty of Health, York University. Dr. Lexchin's 2025 article, 'Information...
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 my friend Cameron. Cameron Fray was a husband, father...
Stop the madness! An indictment against the abuses in Belgian and Dutch psychiatry
Published by Mad in the Netherlands
Brenda Froyen is an author, teacher and mental health activist. After two very traumatic experiences of isolation and restraint...
FROM CBC NEWS: Ont. doctors’ college orders Toronto pediatrician to undergo ‘further education’ on...
Woman who suffered severe withdrawal symptoms should not have been prescribed it, assessor finds
Tara Carman, journalist with CBC news writes:
The College of Physicians and...
“Empire of Normality: neurodiversity and capitalism” a review: The Empire Has No Clothes
From Mad in the UK: In his book Empire of Normality, UK philosopher Robert Chapman, who identifies as “proudly neurodivergent and disabled”, linked today’s...
When Tapering Antidepressants, is Going Slow Always the Best Strategy?
I start this blog with an apology. There may be people reading who, like myself, look back with frustration and despair that they cannot...
Electroconvulsive Therapy …. What does Canada have to say?
Electroconvulsive Therapy, also known as ECT, shock therapy, and electroshock, is a psychiatric treatment that uses electricity to induce a seizure in the person...
Benzodiazepines in Canada: Is a Withdrawal Crisis Looming?
On February 15th, Radio-Canada’s Enquête aired ‘Cauchemar sur ordonnance’ (translation: Nightmare on prescription), a documentary about the dangers of benzodiazepines and z-hypnotics.
Enquête’s description:
Des pilules...
What is “Psychosis”?
There are different hypotheses about what psychosis is. One hypothesis that has been repeatedly disproven is that of the medical model belief that psychosis...
Part 2: Are we all neurodivergent nowadays?
This is Part 2 of the four-part series on neurodiversity that is being jointly published by Mad in America and Mad in the UK....
New Canadian Benzodiazepine Documentary – AIRS FEBRUARY 15th!
Radio-Canada's Enquête presents "Cauchemar Sur Ordonnance" (Season 17: Episode 17)
The episode's title translates to 'prescription nightmare' in French, and it will focus on the...
STAR*D UPDATES: Petition for Retraction of STAR*D Summary Article Submitted to AJP Editor Ned...
On September 9, 2023 (updated September 20, 2023) Mad in America published Robert Whitaker's MIA Report on the STAR*D fraudulent data scandal. Since then...
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...
Part 1: Neurodiversity—What Exactly Does It Mean?
Mad in America and Mad in the UK are jointly publishing a four-part series on neurodiversity over the next four weeks. The series was...
Part 3: Neuro-authenticity, neuro-identities, and the neuro-industry
This is Part 3 of the four-part series on neurodiversity that is being jointly published by Mad in America and Mad in the UK....
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...
Electroconvulsive Therapy Survey | John Read | Madness Radio
First Aired by Madness Radio on July 11, 2024
Survey of people who have had electroshock (electroconvulsive Therapy/ECT) – for patients, family, and friends.
John Read,...
The Best (and Worst) That Mood-Tech Can Be
When Ontario was first placed under lockdown in March 2020, I, like many other psych-service users found myself relying on Skype and phone sessions...
ECT Survey – Open until end of September!
The ECT Survey Opportunity is available until the end of September!
ELECTROCONVULSIVE THERAPY (ECT)
RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS NEEDED FOR INTERNATIONAL ONLINE SURVEY
If you are at least 18...
THIS WEEKEND! Neuroplasticity: A Path for Healing from Protracted Withdrawal Symptoms
From Mad in America - this Weekend!
A panel on recovering from protracted psychiatric drug withdrawal using neuroplasticity, featuring inspiring stories and useful strategies.
Saturday August...
Personality disorders? Please, tell us what you really think.
This week on Twitter, there was an uproar in response to a UK Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPUK) advertisement for a course on ‘personality...
Liquids and Tapering Strips: Formulations in Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal
On June 28th, The International Institute for Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal (IIPDW) is hosting a webinar.
Liquids & Tapering Strips: Formulations in Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal
The what,...
The WHO Calls for Radical Change in Global Mental Health
During the past decade, the World Health Organization has regularly promoted the goal of improving “global mental health.” While it has often told of...
In Memoriam: Paula Joan Caplan
Paula Caplan, a prolific writer, playwright, and social activist, who for decades was one of the most prominent critics of psychiatry and its diagnoses,...
Bell Let’s Talk: Are These “New Conversations” Helpful?
January 26th is Bell Let’s Talk Day. From the Bell Let’s Talk website:
"In September 2010, Bell Let’s Talk began a new conversation about Canada’s...
On “knowing,” activism and writing: Remembering Graeme Bacque
We owe a debt of gratitude to activists who over the years have written, recorded, created art and cultural work that exemplifies how, when,...