“Based on the author’s extensive clinical, forensic and research experience, this article addresses the scientific and moral question of whether it is ever in the best interests of a child to be given a psychiatric drug. the focus is on the diagnosis attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (adhd) and stimulant drugs, and on the diagnosis bipolar disorder and antipsychotic (neuroleptic) drugs. the conclusion is that we should work towards a prohibition against giving psychiatric drugs to children, and instead focus on safe and effective alternative ways of meeting the needs of children within their families, schools and society. © 2014 john wiley & sons ltd and national children’s bureau.”

“Why do so many individuals persist in taking psychoactive substances, including psychiatric drugs, after adverse mental and behavioral effects have become severe and even disabling? the author has previously proposed the brain-disabling principle of psychiatric treatment that all somatic psychiatric treatments impair the function of the brain and mind. intoxication anosognosia (medication spellbinding) is an expression of this drug-induced mental disability. intoxication anosognosia causes the victim to underestimate the degree of drug-induced mental impairment, to deny the harmful role that the drug plays in the person’s altered state, and in many cases compel the individual to mistakenly believe that he or she is functioning better. in the extreme, the individual displays out-of-character compulsively destructive behaviors, including violence toward self and others.”

“Psychopharmacology and biological psychiatry now dominate the mental health field. even humanistic and existential therapists are likely to refer difficult or disturbed clients to physicians, especially psychiatrists, for possible medication. the prevailing professional tendency is to conceptualize the conflict between psychotherapy and drug treatment as a scientific one; but it is at root a conflict between two different views of human nature. we need to renew our faith in the psychiatric drug-free human being in both our personal and professional lives.”

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The newer antidepressants frequently cause suicide, violence, and manic-like symptoms of activation or overstimulation, presenting serious hazards to active-duty soldiers who carry weapons under stressful conditions. these antidepressant-induced symptoms of activation can mimic posttraumatic stress disorder and are likely to worsen this common disorder in soldiers, increasing the hazard when they are prescribed to military personnel. antidepressants should not be prescribed to soldiers during or after deployment.

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“Understanding the hazards associated with long-term exposure to psychiatric drugs is very important but rarely emphasized in the scientific literature and clinical practice. drawing on the scientific literature and clinical experience, the author describes the syndrome of chronic brain impairment (cbi) which can be caused by any trauma to the brain including traumatic brain injury (tbi), electroconvulsive therapy (ect), and long-term exposure to psychiatric medications. knowledge of the syndrome should enable clinicians to more easily identify long-term adverse effects caused by psychiatric drugs while enabling researchers to approach the problem with a more comprehensive understanding of the common elements of brain injury as they are manifested after long-term exposure to psychiatric medications. treatment options are also discussed.”

“Pregnant mothers should avoid taking ssri antidepressants—they are hazardous to the developing fetus, cause withdrawal symptoms in the newborn baby, and induce biochemical and morphological abnormalities in the brain. if pregnant mothers need help with sad or anxious feelings, they should seek counseling or psychotherapy, especially family therapy involving the child’s father, as well as other sources of emotional support.”

“Because the epidemic dispensing of psychiatric drugs is based on misinformation, it is important for all health professionals, consumers, and most citizens (including patients and their family members) to have a more rational understanding of how psychiatric drugs actually ‘work.’ instead of enforcing authoritarian ‘medication compliance’ in obedience to the prescriber’s orders, informed therapists and healthcare providers have an ethical duty to provide scientific information about the real effects of psychiatric drugs. instead of naively accepting whatever the doctor prescribes to them, consumers need to educate themselves about all medications, but especially about psychiatric ones, which are consistently misrepresented and oversold. this review focuses on three principles of rational psychopharmacology. the first is the brain-disabling principle, which states that all psychoactive substances work by causing dysfunctions of the brain and mind. it further observes that no psychiatric drugs work by improving or correcting biochemical imbalances or any other presumed biological malfunctions. the second principle is intoxication anosognosia (medication spellbinding) which states that all psychoactive substances tend to cause a subjective over-estimation of their positive effects while masking their harmful ones, sometimes resulting in extremely harmful behaviors such as mania, violence and suicide. the third principle is chronic brain impairment (cbi)—that exposure to psychoactive substances, especially long-term, results in impairments of the brain or mind that can become persistent or permanent, including atrophy (shrinkage) of brain tissue. not only are psychiatric drugs likely to do more harm than good, there are more effective and infinitely safer proven psychosocial approaches for treating the whole spectrum of ‘psychiatric disorders’ from ‘adhd’ and ‘major depressive disorder’ to ‘schizophrenia.’ (psycinfo database record (c) 2016 apa, all rights reserved)(journal abstract)”

“Human beings are the most social and the most violent creatures on earth. the combination of cooperation and aggression enabled us to dominate our ecosystem. however, the existence of violent impulses would have made it difficult or impossible for humans to live in close-knit families and clans without destroying each other. nature’s answer was the development of guilt, shame and anxiety-internal emotional inhibitions or restraints specifically against aggressive self-assertion within the family and other close relationships.the theory of negative legacy emotions proposes the first unitary concept for the biopsychosocial function of guilt, shame and anxiety, and seeks their origin in biological evolution and natural selection. natural selection favored individuals with built-in emotional restraints that reduced conflicts within their family and tribal unit, optimizing their capacity to survive and reproduce within the protection of their small, intimate societies, while maintaining their capacity for violence against outsiders. unfortunately, these negative legacy emotions are rudimentary and often ineffective in their psychosocial and developmental function. as a result, they produce many unintended untoward effects, including the frequent breakdown of restraints in the family and the uninhibited unleashing of violence against outsiders.”