CRITICAL AND SOCIAL PSYCHIATRY UCL
Ranks with Peter Kinderman (Liverpool)
and John Read (East London)
I formulated an alternative model, which I call the ‘drug-centred’ model to highlight the nature of the drugs themselves, how they change the body and the brain, and how they modify feelings and behaviour https://joannamoncrieff.com/2013/11/21/models-of-drug-action/. Together with colleagues from around the world, my work has attempted to highlight the confusions and misconceptions that stem from the disease-centred model, to clarify what sort of mental and behavioural alterations different psychiatric drugs produce, and how these alterations might interact with the difficulties associated with mental disorders.
Joanna Moncrieff is a British psychiatrist and a leading figure in the Critical Psychiatry Network. She is a prominent critic of the modern 'psychopharmacological' model of mental disorder and drug treatment, and the role of the pharmaceutical industry. Wikipedia
Antipsychotics[edit]
The Bitterest Pills traces the history of antipsychotic drugs from the introduction of chlorpromazine in the 1950s. The book also looks at recent developments, including the marketing of antipsychotics through the Early Intervention movement, and the promotion of a new and expanded concept of bipolar disorder.[4][page needed] Moncrieff also describes the cultural development of the new concept of bipolar disorder, which she refers to as ‘the medicalisation of "ups and downs"’. Research by Moncrieff and colleagues described and compared the subjective or psychoactive effects of different antipsychotics.[17] This included publication in the controversial and non-peer reviewed Medical Hypotheses.[18]
Lithium[edit]
In early work Moncrieff analysed the evidence for the efficacy of lithium. She claimed there was no evidence that lithium was superior to other sedatives for the treatment of acute mania, and that lithium's efficacy in preventing a relapse of manic depression was due to the adverse effects caused by the sudden withdrawal of lithium.[19] In later work she showed that studies on the outcome of lithium treatment in the real world fail to demonstrate useful or worthwhile effects, and suggest it may even worsen the outcome of manic depression.[20]
Research summary
My research consists of an analysis of all aspects of psychiatric drug treatment, including subjective experiences, history of drug treatment, a critique of evidence for drug treatments, theoretical perspectives on psychiatric drug treatment, and political aspects of drug treatment, including work on the influence of the pharmaceutical industry. I am also interested in the nature and function of diagnosis in modern psychiatric practice, and in the history, politics and philosophy of psychiatry more generally. I have written two books: The Myth of the Chemical Cure, published by Palgrave Macmillan http://www.palgrave.com/products/title.aspx?PID=283272 and A Straight Talking Introduction to Psychiatric Drugs, published by PCCs books http://www.pccs-books.co.uk/product.php?xProd=463&xSec=1&jssCart=951d6cfb50d466e4f830c58cadfd75d6
LATEST BOOK – A Straight Talking Introduction to Psychiatric Drugs: The truth about how they work and how to come off them. Second Edition
In an era when more people are taking psychiatric drugs than ever before, Joanna Moncrieff’s explosive book challenges the claims for their mythical powers. Drawing on extensive research, she demonstrates that psychiatric drugs do not ‘treat’ or ‘cure’ mental illness by acting on hypothesised chemical imbalances or other abnormalities in the brain. There is no evidence for any of these ideas. Moreover, any relief the drugs may offer from the distress and disturbance of a mental disorder can come at great cost to people’s physical health and their ability to function in day-to-day life. And, once on these drugs, coming off them can be very difficult indeed. This book is a wake-up call to the potential damage we are doing to ourselves by relying on chemical cures for human distress. Its clear, concise explanations will enable people to make a fully informed decision about the benefits and harms of these drugs and whether and how to come off them if they so choose.
DO PSYCHIATRIC DRUGS CURE A CHEMICAL IMBALANCE? (OUTSTANDING VIDEO)
THE FUNCTIONS OF THE MENTAL HEALTH SYSTEM UNDER CAPITALISM
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