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Alternative perspective on psychiatry's so-called mental disorders | PHILIP HICKEY, PH.D.

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You are here: Home / Archives for books worth reading

Psychiatry Interrogated, (ed. Bonnie Burstow), Palgrave Macmillan:  A Book Review

January 25, 2017 By Phil Hickey | 3 Comments

I have recently read Psychiatry Interrogated, subtitled “An Institutional Ethnography Anthology”.  Ethnography is the branch of anthropology that deals with the systematic study of individual cultures.  Institutional ethnography (IE), according to Wikipedia, is  “a method of social research [that]… explores the social relations that structure people’s everyday lives, specifically by looking at the ways that… Continue Reading

Book Review: The Power of the Double Circle

January 20, 2017 By Phil Hickey | 2 Comments

I have recently read The Power of the Double Circle by Philip Springer, MD, and Shelby Havens, DNP.  It’s a small book (91 pages), but it sets out an idea that might have some value in support/self-help and other kinds of groups. Dr. Springer is a retired psychiatrist, and Dr. Havens is a psychiatric nurse… Continue Reading

Book Review:  Depression Delusion, by Terry Lynch, MD, MA

August 31, 2015 By Phil Hickey | 80 Comments

In this truly remarkable, and meticulously researched, volume, Dr. Lynch annihilates psychiatry’s cherished chemical imbalance theory of depression.  Every facet of this theory, which the author correctly calls a delusion, is critically analyzed and found wanting.  Example after example is provided of psychiatrists promoting this fiction, the factual and logical errors of which are clearly… Continue Reading

Book Review: Parenting Your Child with ADHD: A No-Nonsense Guide for Nurturing Self-Reliance and Cooperation, by Craig Wiener, EdD

June 5, 2015 By Phil Hickey | 27 Comments

I have recently read this book, and I think it would be extremely helpful for parents, teachers, and counselors who work with children in this area. Here are some quotes: “…ADHD [is] something that your child does rather than something that she has.” “The first thing to realize is that while you and other adults… Continue Reading

Book Review:  Tales From The Madhouse, by Gary Sidley

May 5, 2015 By Phil Hickey | 5 Comments

Earlier this year the British publisher PCCS Books published Tales From The Madhouse: An insider critique of psychiatric services, by Gary Sidley.  Gary worked for thirty-three years in the British NHS mental health service.  He has held positions as a psychiatric nurse, a manager, and a clinical psychologist.  He is currently a freelance writer and… Continue Reading

Book Review: Psychiatry and the Business of Madness An Ethical and Epistemological Accounting, by Bonnie Burstow

April 16, 2015 By Phil Hickey | 26 Comments

This latest book by Bonnie Burstow, PhD, critiques psychiatry, and effectively annihilates any claims that the profession might have had to legitimacy. Bonnie gives us a scholarly, but very readable, account of: the history of psychiatry, ancient and modern; the significance and shortcomings of the DSM; the legal, ethical, and personal ramifications of involuntary “treatment”;… Continue Reading

Book Review:  A Disease Called Childhood, by Marilyn Wedge

April 1, 2015 By Phil Hickey | 26 Comments

Avery, a member of Penguin Group USA, has recently published A Disease Called Childhood, by Marilyn Wedge.  Marilyn has a PhD in psychology and works as a family therapist. In 2014, fully 11% of American children had received a “diagnosis” of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).  It is widely believed by these children, their parents,… Continue Reading

Book Review: Body Dysmorphic Disorder: The Illusion, by Zoe Wybrant

March 31, 2015 By Phil Hickey | 35 Comments

Body Dysmorphic Disorder is one of the so-called mental disorders listed in the DSM-5.  The manual lists the following  diagnostic criteria, (p 242): A.  Preoccupation with one or more perceived defects or flaws in physical appearance that are not observable or appear slight to others. B.  At some point during the course of the disorder,… Continue Reading

Straight Talk from Lucy Johnstone

December 22, 2014 By Phil Hickey | 7 Comments

PCCS Books Ltd has recently published A Straight Talking Introduction to Psychiatric Diagnosis, by Lucy Johnstone, PhD.  Lucy is a consultant psychologist working in Wales, and has been an outspoken critic of psychiatry’s medical model. Here are some quotes: “…my own conclusion, based on extensive reading and clinical work and many enlightening discussions with service… Continue Reading

Psychiatry Disrupted 

October 7, 2014 By Phil Hickey | 5 Comments

On August 15, 2014, McGill-Queens University Press published Psychiatry Disrupted: Theorizing Resistance and Crafting the (R)evolution.  The work is a collection of papers by various authors, edited by Bonnie Burstow, Brenda A. LeFrançois, and Shaindl Diamond.  There is a Foreword by Paula Caplan, and a Preface by Kate Millett. It is no secret that there… Continue Reading

A Prescription for Psychiatry, by Peter Kinderman, PhD

September 11, 2014 By Phil Hickey | 18 Comments

I recently read Peter Kinderman’s new book, A Prescription for Psychiatry, which was published on September 3 by Palgrave Macmillan.  The overall message of the work is captured nicely in the subtitle:  Why We Need a Whole New Approach to Mental Health and Wellbeing.  Dr. Kinderman is Professor of Clinical Psychology, Head of the Institute… Continue Reading

Drugging Our Children: A Book Review

February 17, 2014 By Phil Hickey | 22 Comments

  The 2012 book Drugging Our Children: How Profiteers Are Pushing Antipsychotics on Our Youngest, and What We Can Do to Stop It, is edited by Sharna Olfman PhD, and Brent Dean Robbins, PhD.  It is a collection of ten articles, plus an Introduction and an Afterword by Sharna Olfman.  Here are the chapter titles,… Continue Reading

The Sandcastle Continues to Crumble: ADHD Does Not Exist

January 7, 2014 By Phil Hickey | 190 Comments

BOOK PREVIEW Richard C. Saul, MD ADHD Does Not Exist:  The Truth About Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder Publication date:  February 18, 2014 ************************ Those of us on this side of the psychiatry debate have been saying for decades that the condition known as ADHD is not an illness, but is rather an arbitrarily delineated… Continue Reading

The Bitterest Pills, by Joanna Moncrieff: Another Book Worth Reading

November 19, 2013 By Phil Hickey | 4 Comments

Dr. Joanna Moncrieff is a UK psychiatrist and a founding member of the Critical Psychiatry Network.  In 2009 she wrote The Myth of the Chemical Cure: A Critique of Psychiatric Drug Treatment. Her latest book, The Bitterest Pills, was published earlier this year, and is about neuroleptic drugs (the so-called anti-psychotics).  You can get an… Continue Reading

Another Critique of Psychiatry’s Medical Model

October 16, 2013 By Phil Hickey | 2 Comments

I have recently read De-Medicalizing Misery [palgrave macmillan, 2011].  It’s a comprehensive collection of articles, edited by Mark Rapley, Joanna Moncrieff, and Jacqui Dillon.  The table of contents provides a sense of the book’s scope. Table of Contents Carving Nature at its Joints?  DSM and the Medicalization of Everyday Life, Mark Rapley, Joanna Moncrieff, and Jacqui… Continue Reading

Pharma Corruption of Healthcare

October 9, 2013 By Phil Hickey | Leave a Comment

I’ve been reading another great book:  Deadly Medicines and Organised Crime: How big pharma has corrupted healthcare, by Peter C. Gotzsche [Radcliffe Publishing, 2013]. The book is an exposé of pharma’s fraudulent research and marketing.  The author is a Danish physician who has been involved in clinical trials of drugs, and in drug regulatory matters.  He… Continue Reading

Cracked: The Unhappy Truth About Psychiatry, by James Davies, PhD: Book Review

September 25, 2013 By Phil Hickey | 3 Comments

This is an excellent book, published by Pegasus Books earlier this year.  The cover blurb says that it is “…scathing about every aspect of psychiatry.” Dr. Davies, who is a practicing therapist in the UK, brings to the subject enormous energy and enthusiasm.  He has interviewed Robert Spitzer, Allen Frances, Irving Kirsch, Joanna Moncrieff, Sami… Continue Reading

Madness Contested: An Outstanding Book

August 28, 2013 By Phil Hickey | 6 Comments

The book Madness Contested has recently been published by PCCS Books.  It’s a collection of articles, edited by Steven Coles, Sarah Keenan, and Bob Diamond. The book is a remarkable piece of work.  It covers just about every contentious concept in the present “mental illness” debate, and brings to bear an abundance of new insights and… Continue Reading

A Survivor’s Story: The Dark Threads

April 17, 2013 By Phil Hickey | Leave a Comment

I have just read The Dark Threads, by Jean Davison (Accent Press Ltd, 2009) It’s autobiographical, and describes with great detail and insight how a young woman of 18 years, whose only problem was acute shyness coupled with a yearning for some meaning in life, made the mistake of visiting a psychiatrist. Jean describes how… Continue Reading

Shock “Treatment” Is Not Safe and Provides Little If Any Benefit

March 27, 2013 By Phil Hickey | 4 Comments

DELICATE THINGS REQUIRE DELICATE HANDLING When I was a teenager, one of my hobbies was making small transistor radios.  It sounds complicated, but is well within the reach of an average 15-year-old.  You get some magazine articles, learn how to read a circuit, and learn how to use a soldering iron. A transistor is a… Continue Reading

“Prescription Drugs Associated with Reports of Violence Towards Others”

March 12, 2013 By Phil Hickey | Leave a Comment

This is the title of a 2010 research report by Thomas J. Moore, Joseph Glenmullen, and Curt D. Furberg, published in PLOS One, an online peer-reviewed journal. The authors of the study searched the FDA’s Adverse Event Reporting System from 2004 to September 2009, and flagged reports indicating violence. They concluded: “Acts of violence towards… Continue Reading

Bad Pharma, by Ben Goldacre

March 6, 2013 By Phil Hickey | 2 Comments

All the awful things you’ve heard and read about the pharmaceutical companies are documented on the pages of Bad Pharma with compelling clarity and abundant references. Dr. Goldacre is a British physician.  His primary issue is the safety and efficacy of pharmaceutical products in general medicine, but he has a lot to say about psychiatric… Continue Reading

Another Important Book

June 25, 2012 By Phil Hickey | 1 Comment

  De-Medicalizing Misery, edited by Mark Rapley, Joanna Moncrieff, and Jacqui Dillon This book is a collection of papers by various authors, most of whom have experience working with clients and are also associated with prestigious British universities. Here are some quotes: “The architects of modern biological psychiatry have constructed a system that does little… Continue Reading

Another Good Book by Stephen Ray Flora

February 22, 2012 By Phil Hickey | Leave a Comment

A few weeks ago I recommended Taking America Off Drugs by Stephen Ray Flora.  Well, he has also written The Power of Reinforcement (State University of New York Press, 2004), and this also is well worth reading. Reinforcement is a crucial concept in psychology, and in this book Dr. Flora clarifies the matter and dispels the… Continue Reading

Another Good Book

January 22, 2012 By Phil Hickey | 1 Comment

Taking America Off Drugs by Stephen Ray Flora A few weeks ago, in a comment, A Behaviorist Fan recommended the above book to me.  It came out in 2007, and I don’t know how I missed it at the time.  But I’ve read it now and it’s a superb piece of work. Definitely a must… Continue Reading

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