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...
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,...
The ERNI Declaration: Making Sense of Distress Without “Disease”
The ERNI (Emotions aRe Not Illnesses) declaration is based on the idea that distress does not equate to disease, dysfunction, dysregulation, or chemical imbalance....
There’s a Fundamental Flaw in Mental Health Care in Canada
Mad in Canada launched on June 1st. We’re just over a month old. Reflection on the mission we share with Mad in America and...
The Politics of Distress: A discussion with Dr. James Davies on his new book...
Dr. James Davies graduated from the University of Oxford in 2006 with a DPhil in social and medical anthropology. He is a Reader in...
Appeal to Board of Health to Ban ECT in Ontario
In January of 1984 seven members of the Ontario Coalition to Stop Electroshock, three psychiatrists, and a psychiatric social worker gave personal testimony. I...
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...
“Global Psychiatry’s Crisis of Values”
American psychiatrist Awais Aftab, leads the series 'Conversations in Critical Psychiatry' for Psychiatric Times. His June 3rd installment, an interview with Dainius Pūras, MD,...
Will We Wake for Pity’s Sake
Suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in the United States. While antidepressants, and other psychotropic, mind altering medications, are designed to decrease...
Medical Assistance in Dying for ‘Mental disorders’: Fatally flawed without expertise of service users/survivors
Now that people suffering exclusively from mental distress will be eligible for medical assistance in dying (MAiD) from April, 2023, the debate has shifted...
Shamanic Approaches to Dis-Ease: Working with the Whole Person
The shamanic practitioner approaches illness, or “dis-ease” from a spiritual perspective. The focus is not on treating a condition, but on working with the...
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...
Why We Need a National Organization
“We become aware of the void as we fill it.” ― Antonio Porchia
I have been privileged! At the mere age of 22 with lots...