Professionals


Madness Radio: Bipolar Medication Myths Joanna Moncrieff

First Aired 8-26-2010    Duration: 51:41

Is bipolar disorder a disease? Can medications like lithium correct chemical imbalances and stabilize mood? Do psychiatric drugs act completely differently on the brain than recreational drugs? UK psychiatrist Dr. Joanna Moncrieff, author of The Myth Of The Chemical Cure: A Critique of Psychiatric Drug Treatment, discusses how seeing psychiatric medications as treatments for disease misleads the public about how they actually work, and obscures their potential for abuse as tools of social control. www.critpsynet.freeuk.com www.academyanalyticarts.org/moncrieff.htm

Madness Radio: Open Dialog Alternative Mary Olson

First Aired 4-19-2010    Duration: 53:23

Is a 'psychotic' crisis inside one person's mind -- or does it happen between people, in their relationship? Can therapy untangle the web of madness by addressing the family, providers, and entire social network? Smith College social worker and Fullbright scholar Mary Olson discusses the innovative work of Jaakko Seikkula's Open Dialog Approach in Finland, which has achieved dramatic success helping people through extreme states labeled 'psychosis' and 'schizophrenia' -- while relying much less on medication and hospitalization. http://bipolarblast.wordpress.com/2010/01/04/alternative-for-psychosis/, brassworks.millriver(at)gmail(dot)com

Madness Radio: Violent Voices Erica van den Akker

First Aired 4-2-2010    Duration: 48:28

People who hear voices are no more violent than anyone else -- but what about the small number of voice hearers that do actually commit violent crimes? Are medications and locked wards the best way to help those who act on their aggressive "command hallucinations?" Dutch psychiatric social worker and Hearing Voices Movement member Erica van den Akker discusses her innovative counseling work with violent offenders in the Netherlands. alpouvar1(at) tomaatnet(dot)nl

Madness Radio: Schizophrenia Psychotherapy Cathy Penney

First Aired 1-21-2010    Duration: 47:56

Can a severe, chronic case of "schizophrenia" ever recover? Is psychotherapy an alternative to medications? What role does trauma play in madness? Hear the inspiring story of how Catherine Penney, RN, was catatonic and locked in a hospital back ward for years, and then emerged to create a new alternative healing community. www.dantescure.com www.desertgathering.com www.iraresoul.com/dvd.html

Madness Radio: Conscience of Psychiatry Peter Breggin

First Aired 9-16-2009    Duration: 54:05

What do modern psychiatric drug treatments have in common with lobotomy? Is informed consent possible when patients' judgment is impaired by medication? Should psych drugs be banned? For more than 50 years Dr. Peter Breggin has been a leading crusader against psychiatric abuse, Big Pharma, and medication dangers. His latest book is The Conscience of Psychiatry: The Reform Work of Peter R. Breggin, MD. www.breggin.com

Madness Radio: Beyond Belief Tamasin Knight

First Aired 9-16-2009    Duration: 48:25

How do we respond to bizarre beliefs like CIA brain chips, abduction by aliens, hearing voices, spirit possession, or telepathy? Is respect for a different reality "colluding" with a delusion? Or is there meaning in madness? Medical doctor Tamasin Knight was hospitalized for delusions, and went on to write the practical guidebook Beyond Belief: Alternative Ways of Working with Delusions, Obsessions and Unusual Experiences, available as a free download at www.peter-lehmann-publishing.com/books/beyond-belief.pdf.

Madness Radio: Beyond Meds Gianna Kali

First Aired 2-23-2009    Duration: 56:09

Blogger and former social worker Gianna Kali discusses her experience going into the mental health system after taking psychedelic drugs, spiritual emergence, decades of treatment with more than 30 different psychiatric medications, and the difficult process of coming off meds, drug withdrawal, and regaining her life. Gianna is the creator of the Beyond Meds blog about mental health and coming off medications. http://bipolarblast.wordpress.com/.

Madness Radio: Schizophrenia Recovery Rufus May

First Aired 1-19-2009    Duration: 49:21

UK clinical psychologist Rufus May descended into madness -- convinced he was on a spy mission and that animals were robots, he even walked into a family gathering naked. How did Rufus find meaning in these experiences, learn to live without medication, and become a successful psychologist and mental health advocate? Rufus was recently featured in the Channel 4 feature film The Doctor Who Hears Voices. www.rufusmay.com

Madness Radio: Hoarding Stuff w/ Randy Frost

First Aired 11-26-2008    Duration: 52:36

Psychology professor Randy Frost, author of Buried In Treasures, discusses his work on hoarding, people who collect so much stuff excessively that it disrupts their lives or creates a health or fire hazard, including how to help people without risking adding to the problem through intrusive or drastic intervention. rfrost@smith.edu.

Madness Radio: Spiritual Emergence David Lukoff

First Aired 7-2-2008    Duration: 49:48

Clinical Psychologist David Lukoff talks about his madness experience and the spiritual transformation it triggered. David went on to become a leading figure in the field of Transpersonal Psychology and works to bring greater spiritual awareness into mainstream mental health practice. http://www.spiritualcompetency.com/