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THE EPIDEMIC OF MENTAL ILLNESS: WHY NOW?

Sunday, December 9th, 2012

It seems that Americans are in the midst of a raging epidemic of mental illness, at least as judged by the increase in the numbers treated for it. The tally of those who are so disabled by mental disorders that they qualify for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) increased nearly two and a half times between 1987 and 2007—from one in 184 Americans to one in seventy-six. For children, the rise is even more startling—a thirty-five-fold increase in the same two decades. Mental illness is now the leading cause of disability in children, well ahead of physical disabilities like cerebral palsy or Down syndrome, for which the federal programs were created.

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MEDICATING FOR A.D.H.D.

Sunday, December 9th, 2012

To the Editor:

In the span of less than a year, The New York Times has published several news and opinion articles about the use of stimulants to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder that are simultaneously intriguing, disturbing and confounding.

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NEW LOVE: A SHORT SHELF LIFE

Saturday, December 8th, 2012

IN fairy tales, marriages last happily ever after. Science, however, tells us that wedded bliss has but a limited shelf life.

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Talk Therapy Lifts Severe Schizophrenics

Wednesday, October 5th, 2011

People with severe schizophrenia who have been isolated, withdrawn and considered beyond help can learn to become more active, social and employable by engaging in a type of talk therapy that was invented to treat depression, scientists reported on Monday. (more…)

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Psychotherapy Eases Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Study Finds

Saturday, February 19th, 2011

A new study suggests that psychotherapy and a gradual increase in exercise can significantly benefit patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.

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A FIGHTING SPIRIT WON’T SAVE YOUR LIFE

Sunday, January 30th, 2011

GABRIELLE GIFFORDS’S remarkable recovery from a bullet to her head has provided a heartening respite from a national calamity. Representative Giffords’s husband describes her as a “fighter,” and no doubt she is one. Whether her recovery has anything to do with a fighting spirit, however, is another matter entirely.

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The Rise of the Psychopharmaceutical Industry 1987-2010

Sunday, August 1st, 2010

Robert Whitaker’s brilliant book Anatomy of an Epidemic asks a simple question.Why , if psychiatric drug treatments are so efficacious, has the number of people on disability for mental illness more than tripled in the last 25 years? Most doctors and researchers answered this question by stating that the numbers have increased simply because we are diagnosing more people with mental illness. In response to this stereotyped dismissal of his data, Robert began to do more research on the efficacy of known psychiatric treatments. And then, while poring through the psychiatric scientific literature on treatment effectiveness for the last fifty years he found an even darker question beginning to emerge. “Is it possible that psychiatric drugs are actually making people much worse?” Could it be that far from “fixing broken brains” the drugs being offered actually are worsening, and even causing, the very illnesses they claim to heal?   …

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What Is P.T.S.D.?

Monday, November 9th, 2009

DSM-IV-TR Criteria for PTSD

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David Strug’s Interview on Pacifica Radio

Thursday, July 9th, 2009

David Strug was recently interviewed about his research with older Cubans by the host of Against the Grain, a Pacifica radio program about politics, society and ideas. Strug spoke about intergenerational conflicts between younger and older Cubans on the island, among other topics. To listen to his radio interview, click the following link: http://againstthegrain.org/program/197/id/261418/tues-6-23-09-idealism-and-survival-cuba

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David Strug’s New Edited Volume on the Cuban Health Care System

Thursday, July 9th, 2009

Community Health Care in Cuba, edited by Susan E. Mason, David L. Strug, and Joan Beder was just released this past June by Lyceum Press. This volume provides a comprehensive view of Cuba’s community-oriented health care program and includes chapters on mental health care for adoelscents and adults, on psychology in the community, and on music therapy in Cuba.

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