Behaviorism and Mental Health

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

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You are here: Home / Archives for myth of chemical imbalance

Psychiatry Debunks the ‘Myths’

July 15, 2014 By Phil Hickey | 84 Comments

Psychiatry has always had its share of critics, but in the past two decades these criticisms have increased in frequency and intensity.  Psychiatry’s underlying concepts are being denounced as spurious to the point of inanity, and its practices are being accurately and forcefully exposed as destructive, disempowering, and stigmatizing. Psychiatry has no rational or logical… Continue Reading

The Concept of Mental Illness: Spurious or Valid?

October 1, 2013 By Phil Hickey | 37 Comments

On January 17, 2013, Peter Kinderman, PhD, Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Liverpool, wrote an article titled Grief and Anxiety are not mental illnesses. On February 4, 2013, Steven Novella, MD, wrote a critique of Dr. Kinderman’s article. On February 20, I wrote a critique of Dr. Novella’s article. And finally, on… Continue Reading

Postpartum Depression Not an Illness

April 24, 2013 By Phil Hickey | 12 Comments

BACKGROUND The primary purpose of the bio-psychiatric-pharma faction is to expand turf and sell more drugs.  This is a multi-faceted endeavor, one component of which is disease mongering.  This consists of using marketing techniques to persuade large numbers of people that they have an illness which needs to be treated with drugs. With regards to… Continue Reading

A Critical Look at Critical Psychiatry

January 27, 2013 By Phil Hickey | 13 Comments

Critical Psychiatry Network is a group of British psychiatrists who are developing and promoting concepts that question and criticize the assumptions that underlie present-day psychiatric practice, not only in Britain, but also in the US and other developed countries. Critical Psychiatry challenges the notion that the various DSM “diagnoses” are biologically-based illnesses, and adduces a… Continue Reading

Depression is Not a Brain Defect

January 15, 2013 By Phil Hickey | 9 Comments

I’ve come across an article by psychologist Bruce Levine, PhD, How the “Brain Defect” Theory of Depression Stigmatizes Depression Sufferers. Dr. Levine convincingly debunks the brain defect theory, and also the notion that the illness theory destigmatizes depression. Here are some quotes:  “Americans have been increasingly socialized to be terrified of the overwhelming pain that… Continue Reading

 

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The phrase "mental health" as used in the name of this website is simply a term of convenience. It specifically does not imply that the human problems embraced by this term are illnesses, or that their absence constitutes health. Indeed, the fundamental tenet of this site is that there are no mental illnesses, and that conceptualizing human problems in this way is spurious, destructive, disempowering, and stigmatizing.

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The purpose of this website is to provide a forum where current practices and ideas in the mental health field can be critically examined and discussed. It is not possible in this kind of context to provide psychological help or advice to individuals who may read this site, and nothing written here should be construed in this manner. Readers seeking psychological help should consult a qualified practitioner in their own local area. They should explain their concerns to this person and develop a trusting working relationship. It is only in a one-to-one relationship of this kind that specific advice should be given or taken.

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