Tag Archives: chemical imbalance misinformation

Black Friday/Cyber Monday 2018: Prices of my mental health courses reduced by 50% for limited period

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About Black Friday and Cyber Monday:

Traditionally, Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving falls annually on the fourth Thursday in November, and the following day has become widely known as Black Friday.

Being the first day after the last major American holiday before Christmas, Black Friday has unofficially become known as the unofficial beginning of the Christmas shopping season.

The common use of the term ‘Black Friday’ dates back to 1966, when Philadelphia police used this term to describe the major traffic jams and overcrowding in stores that occurred on the day after Thanksgiving. The term ‘Cyber Monday’ was first coined in 2005. It is traditionally the first Monday after Thanksgiving.

In 2018, Black Friday occurs on November 23rd and Cyber Monday happens the following Monday, November 26th.

Traditionally, Black Friday refers to instore prices reductions and Cyber Monday to online reductions.

My courses, 50% price reduction:

In keeping with the spirit of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, all of my courses are available at a 50% price reduction between now and the end of November 2018.

But first, some of my credentials:

 

Official appointments:

 

Some of the talks I have given:

 

 

And some testimonials:

Now, back to my mental health courses:

My courses, 50% price reduction:

30-day no quibble money-back guarantee applies to all courses.

Continuing professional development (CPD) applies to my courses for mental health professionals.

Courses for the general public:

1. Depression: Its True Nature:

This is a comprehensive course on depression, setting out a far more extensive understanding of the experiences and behaviours that come to be collectively referred to as ‘depression’ than the prevailing medical understanding.

Here is a link to the full course information and 50% price reduction: Depression, its true nature (general public). 

Some testimonials from people who have undertaken this course:

Carole: “I am blown away with what I have learned so far.”

John: “Fantastic course, brings enlightenment to a very confused profession!”.

Natalie: “It is the most fruitful course I ever did in my life. Thank you for being honest, you gave me hope for humanity.”

Margaret: “Absolutely superb; really helped me sort out the misinformation I have amassed over the years. I am enjoying your course on depression so much. It is giving me an understanding that I have never had before even with constantly reading and researching on mental ill-health.”

David: This is excellent. Great work Terry, thanks”.

Andrea: “Most interesting”.

Anne: “I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart . . . This course has been tremendously helpful in understanding my child and myself. And I have downloaded it and will refer back to it over time. And treasure the contents of this enlightening and revealing course on this overwhelming condition called ‘depression’.”

Here is a link to the full course information and 50% price reduction: Depression, its true nature (general public). 

2. Bipolar disorder: Cracking the code:

A comprehensive and detailed explanation of bipolar disorder.

Unlike the common understanding of bipolar disorder, in this course I explain the degree to which the prevailing medical understanding is correct, and I provide a comprehensive account of the emotional and psychological aspects (including trauma), aspects that are regularly overlooked within the prevailing approach to bipolar disorder.

Here is a link to the bipolar disorder course for the general public:  Bipolar disorder: Cracking the code (general public).  

Here are some testimonials from people who have undertaken this course:

Doug: “Since watching your Cracking the Code course on Bipolar disorder, I have been able twice to prevent episodes of manic psychosis. The short version is that I was able to recognize that I was using daydreaming/fantasy as an escape from (previously unidentified) anxiety that arose from trauma triggers. So instead of continuing to daydream/fantasize, I applied coping techniques for anxiety (e.g., What’s the worst possible thing that could realistically happen? Plan for that.) Thank you so much for your great, life-saving information!”

Joseph: “I am really enjoying your ‘Bipolar disorder: Cracking the code’ course”

Deirdre: “I am enjoying the course. It is making a lot of sense and helping me to understand things better. I look forward to tuning in for future presentations.”

Antoinette: “Thank you Terry this is a wonderful resource.”

John:“The information and continuing revelations are a blessing.”

Here is a link to the bipolar disorder course for the general public:  Bipolar disorder: Cracking the code (general public).  

Courses for mental health professionals:

1. Working Therapeutically With Clients With A psychiatric Diagnosis:

Currently over 17 hours of audio-visual material, more added several times a month.

There is a considerable amount of misinformation surrounding the psychiatric diagnoses within the training of non-medical mental health professionals. This misinformation is corrected within this course. A comprehensive understanding of the main psychiatric diagnoses – incorporating trauma and the emotional and psychological aspects.

Here is a link to the full course information and 50% price reduction:  Working Therapeutically With Clients With A Psychiatric Diagnosis (for mental health professionals)  

CPD applies.

Certificates of Attendance/Completion issued when required.

Here are some testimonials from mental health professionals who have undertaken this course:

Deborah: “I have found the course very useful and informative. It has given me ideas on how I work with clients, although I have over the last few years I have come to my own understanding of how trauma and challenge in people lives thwarts a healthy sense of self and emotional awareness and regulation. I have long since moved away from the medical model and prefer to support people in their humanity’. Your course has highlighted and reinforced this to me and to be more aligned with my views even though these often go against mainstream opinion including some of those in the mental health professions. Thank you.”

Swee Eng: “The information given is so helpful”.

Margaret: “I am learning so much from your course, thank you. So much of what you are saying I have thought but dismissed as lack of knowledge on my part. I am overwhelmed and shaking from what I have learned, and thirty years in the dark. I now see a chink of light.”

Maria: “This is a very interesting case study” (in relation to one of the many case studies included in this course).

Wanda: “The importance of agency and self-efficacy makes me think of a young client I work with who is v low on both and v depressed. I would love to see an integrated set of services for young people whereby they are assisted in developing their talents or capacity “to do” (manage life) in addition to therapy”.

Margaret: “Thank you for your valuable presentations and research Terry”.

Here is a link to the full course information and 50% price reduction:  Working Therapeutically With Clients With A Psychiatric Diagnosis (for mental health professionals)   

2. Depression: Its True Nature (for mental health professionals)

A comprehensive course on depression for mental health professionals. CPD applies. Over 17 hours of audio-visual material, plus the slides used in the presentations.

Here is a link to the information on this course and the 50% price reduction: Depression: Its True Nature (for mental health professionals)  

Here are some testimonials by mental health professionals who have undertaken this course:

“A ground-breaking new course for all mental health professionals” – Lucy Johnstone, UK clinical psychologist, author and trainer, September 2016, stated in a tweet, @Clinpsychlucy

Robert: “Thanks Terry very insightful and I look forward to revisiting and reflecting over the material in months ahead”.

Yi Ling (Singapore): “Thanks Dr. Lynch. You made the learning easy and the references were very helpful. I have learnt so much and I look forward to other courses.”

Evelyn: “Very informative course and as a psychotherapist, invaluable insight”.

Julie: “I very much enjoyed the course on Depression. For me I found the last sections on Wounding etc very helpful. It has given me an added dimension of understanding and also confidence. I found as I was listening to you speaking I could apply it to certain Clients which has been so helpful. Definitely had some “a ha!” moments! So I just wanted to give you that feedback and thank you for putting together such a comprehensive course on a subject that is so misunderstood. A course like this has been badly needed I feel.”

Thomas: “I just finished the depression course and want to congratulate you on the course, content and delivery. I enjoyed every minute of it and it has been most thought provoking”.

Carole: “Highly recommended course. Transformational and worth every cent. Looking forward to the next one!“

Claire: “. Your work is a massive achievement, a revelation and has personally validated my personal experience of mental emotional distress in the past and provides massive hope for the future and my career”.

Anne: “I finished the ‘True Nature of Depression’ course this evening. To be honest I did not want it to end. I don’t think anything I can say could properly do justice to the mind-boggling breadth of area you cover in the three sections. As someone who has been involved in education for most of my own career I have never come across a better designed course to get across so successfully, such a potentially complex subject.

The truth about the prevailing view that you encapsulate so powerfully is actually quite devastating so it has been greatly appreciated that it is delivered with such true warmth in your face to face delivery.

Thank you so very much for it all.

I do want to go over certain parts again and that is a great thing that I can do that. There is a great deal for me to reflect on both professionally and personally re my own mental health situation in view of what you present.”

Nicole: “Insightful and thought-provoking”.

Kathy: “I finished your course Depression, its true nature about a week ago. I have never come across such a course before and found it excellent. You challenge the prevailing viewpoint repeatedly but always backed up by rigorous and thorough research. You tell the truth but do so in a courageous, respectful and dignified manner. Most of all, you offer real HOPE of recovery to those in mental distress. I respect and admire your work very much and am very glad to know you. I will recommend you (and have already) to anyone interested and open to alternative viewpoints of mental health states”.

Andrew: “A highly worthwhile undertaking! – Thank you very much Terry for an intriguing and insightful course backed up by solid evidence. A huge amount of work obviously went into compiling the course, backed by immense knowledge and experience, and I would recommend it to anyone who is open minded enough to begin to question the medical orthodoxies around depression.”

Anne: “I knew from your previous work that this course would be good but to say it has exceeded any expectations I had is a serious understatement.”

Valerie: ” A highly impressive course”.

Donal: “Terry, I am really enjoying the course. Full of detail and brave argument. As I complete each section there is a sense that no stone is left unturned.”

Patrick: “I’m learning a lot from this course.”

Alastair: “Course is highly interesting”.

Mark: “This was a very comprehensive course, thank you”.

Here is a link to the information on this course and the 50% price reduction: Depression: Its True Nature (for mental health professionals)  

3. Bipolar disorder: Cracking the code:

A comprehensive course on bipolar disorder for mental health professionals. CPD applies. Over 11 hours of audio-visual material, plus the slides used in the presentations. More material added regularly.

Here is a link to the information on this course and the 50% prices reduction: Bipolar Disorder: Cracking The Code (for mental health professionals) 

Here are some testimonials from people who have undertaken this course:

Alastair: “I enjoyed the course immensely. It is a most refreshing mixture of neglected common sense coupled with wisdom. Thank you very much indeed.”

Valerie: “Wow! The course you provided on bi polar was absolutely awesome. It’s really opened my eyes.’

Chris: “Many thanks for providing such an interesting and helpful course. I have found your meticulous unpacking of received medical ideas extremely useful as also your provision of a very important and enjoyable psychological alternative approach.”

Rebecca: “I found your course very thought provocative and useful”. 

Serena: “Loved it. Thank you. What I also love about the course is being able to go over aspects of the course again, whenever I want”.

Anne: “Thank you so very much for producing this course. It is hard to put into words how incredibly useful all your presentations were. You have finally made sense of what bipolar disorder is in a world that has no idea. The title is very apt.”

Claire: “This course is by far the most useful thing I have ever encountered about bipolar disorder in over twenty years.”

Mark: “I am really enjoying your ‘Bipolar disorder: Cracking the code’ course”.

Patricia: “This course is excellent, and I’m finding it both interesting and inspiring”.

Maureen: “A very interesting course”.

Here is a link to the information on this course and the 50% prices reduction: Bipolar Disorder: Cracking The Code (for mental health professionals) 

If you have any questions about any of this, email me at terry@doctorterrylynch.com (copy and paste this email address if emailing me).

 

Prescribed drug dependence: psychiatry’s appalling response to alarming research findings

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(NB: This article cannot be seen as giving specific medical advice to any individual.This article should not be taken as advising any person to make any change in their psychiatric medication.)

For three decades, it has been clear to me that governments and the public alike have made – and continue to make – a very serious error in trusting mainstream psychiatry with the emotional and mental health care of the general public. 

Mainstream psychiatry has fooled the public – and perhaps themselves – into believing that (a) they are the most expert professionals in mental health, and (b) their primary interest is the public good. 

Neither of the above is true.

Most mainstream psychiatrists have a grossly inadequate understanding of the emotional and psychological worlds of the masses of people they claim to understand, in addition to their exaggerated and frequently deluded view of the brain and claimed (but scientifically unverified) brain abnormalities.

MAINSTREAM PSYCHIATRY IS NOT TO BE TRUSTED.

THE MAIN PRIORITY OF MAINSTREAM PSYCHIATRY IS NOT THE PUBLIC WELLBEING. 

THE MAIN PRIORITY OF MAINSTREAM PSYCHIATRY IS MAINTAINING AND ENHANCING ITS OWN POSITION AT THE PINNACLE OF THE GLOBAL MENTAL HEALTH PYRAMID.

GOVERNMENTS OWE IT TO THE PUBLIC TO INITIATE INDEPENDENT INQUIRIES INTO MENTAL HEALTH, INCLUDING THE WIDESPEAD ASSUMPTION THAT PSYCHIATRY SHOULD LEAD THE WAY IN GLOBAL MENTAL HEALTH.  

IT IS HIGH TIME THAT GOVERNMENTS THAT BACK PSYCHIATRY’S DOMINANT POSITION IN GLOBAL MENTAL HEALTH WOKE UP TO THESE REALITIES. 

Over the years, I have come across dozens of examples of psychiatry’s incompetence, ignorance, bias, delusional thinking, and cunning.

Yet another classic example of this occurred in October 2018.

 

Background:

As I described in my 2018 Kindle book publication ‘Prescribed Drug Dependence’, mainstream psychiatry has systematically underplayed the drug-dependency potential of the substances they prescribe so frequently and with such enthusiasm and conviction.

Based on people’s experiences of taking the substances, it has been clear to me for the past twenty years that the much-promoted SSRI antidepressants frequently cause drug dependence and withdrawal problems.

Because it would reflect very badly on psychiatry to be seen as prescribing substances that – like illicit street drugs – regularly cause drug dependence and withdrawal problems, mainstream psychiatry has vehemently and consistently resisted significant withdrawal problems being associated with the substances we call SSRI antidepressants. 

 

New research

Research on antidepressant drug withdrawal effects was published in October 2018 by British psychologists John Read and James Davies: Read-Davies research 

 

These were the key findings of this research:

More than half experiencing withdrawal effects; almost half of those experiencing withdrawal describing them as ‘severe; withdrawal effects commonly lasting several weeks or months.

These are very significant findings.

To those of us who have been honest about the withdrawal problems caused by antidepressants, these findings come as no surprise. 

The media reaction to this research:

Because these results are so signficant – and perhaps because the vast majority of psychiatrists and GPs have been rubbishing people’s concerns about antidepressant drug dependence and withdrawal problems for three decades – these research were picked up by mainstream media:

 The Mail:

The Guardian:

The Times:

The Independent:

Sky News:

BBC News:

News of this research reached Denmark:

So, the mainstream media rightly took this research very seriously. 

 

What about mainstream psychiatry? What was psychiatry’s reaction to this research?

 Wendy Burn, President of the Royal College tweeted, ‘Good to see more research in this important area’, a rather underwhelming reponse to the Mail’s headline, ‘Doctors must wake up to patients hooked on depression pills’:

Wendy Burn’s comment – ‘Good to see research in this important area’ seemed disingenuous to me.

I replied directly to Royal College of Psychiatrist’s President Wendy Burn.  In my tweet, I ensured that the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Simon Wessely (the previous President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists) and Carmine Pariante, a prominent spokesman for the Royal College of Psychiatrists were notified about my tweet:

In my tweet, I was making the point that this research came not from the prescribers of these substances – psychiatrists and GPs – but from two very conscientious psychologists.

I was also asking an important if rather obvious question: Why were psychiatrists not undertaking such research, given that drug prescribing comes under their remit and responsibility?

Wendy Burn is quite active on Twitter, generally posting tweets and retweeting many times a day. So is Carmine Pariante and the Royal College of Psychiatrists. Simon Wessely is also quite active on Twitter. Though notified about my tweet by me, not one of them bothered to reply.

I looked through the tweets and replies sent by Dr. Wendy Burn over the following days. I found just two tweets – or rather, retweets; Wendy Burn apparently did not see this research as important enough to comment further.

I believe that Wendy Burn’s true position – and the position of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, of which she is currently president, the college’s most senior representative – reveals itself in the two tweets – out of the hundreds of tweets about this antidepressant withdrawal research – that she chose to retweet.

Wendy Burn’s first retweet, in which the author plays down the signficance of antidepressant withdrawal and dependence, instead using the favoured medical term, ‘discontinuation syndrome’ rather than the more truthful ‘withdrawal syndrome’:

Wendy Burn’s second retweet was of a tweet in which antidepressant drug dependence is downplayed: 

 

The President of the Royal College of Psychiatry’s ambivalent reaction to these research findings – findings that essentially point to a major public health issue of doctor-initiated prescribed drug dependence – contrasts sharply with her often-expressed enthusiasm for ideas and notions that coincide with the ideology of psychiatry, the hoped-for desire of mainstream psychiatry for mental health problems to be fundamentally seen as biological, such as this one: 

There is no indication to suggest that the Royal College of Psychiatrists intend to take this research seriously.

The American Psychiatric Assocation’s reponse:

News of this research spread to the UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). This was picked up by the American Psychiatric Association , who tweeted:

UK psychologist John Read, one of the two main of this research, was magnanimous in his response to this tweet by the American Psychiatric Association:

Within hours however, the American Psychiatric Association deleted their own tweet:  Some people on Twitter had the foresight to take screenshots of the American Psychiatric Association’s tweet:

 

This screenshot illustrates that the American Psychiatric Association’s tweet is now unavailable:

John Read then asked the American Psychiatric Association directly why they removed their tweet:

The American Psychiatric Association did not reply to John Read.

Nor did they reply to others who also asked the American Psychiatric Association to explain why they deleted their own tweet hours after publishing it:

A survivor of psychiatry – Twitter handle @angpeacock1111 – correctly describes how important this sequence of events is:

 

Why would the American Psychiatric Association delete this tweet and refuse to explain why?

This is an example of the duplicity and cunning that is endemic within mainsteam psychiatry globally. 

Clearly, someone within the American Psychiatric Association felt it approriate to respond and tweet about this important research.

It would appear that this decision to flag this decision was subsequently – a few hours later – overrided by more powerful voices within the American Psychiatrric Association, arrogant and poweful voices that also felt that the public did not deserve an explanation for their radical change of mind in relation to their tweet about this research.

Agreeing with this research – as they did in their tweet – would raise serious questions about the correctness of prescribing these substances to vast numbers of people. 

The unexplained removal of this tweet had nothing to do with the public interest, and everything to do with prioritising the image of psychiatry and the American Psychiatric Association. 

Prescribed drug dependence: such a major issue, consistently swept under the carpet by psychiatric drug prescribers

Why did it take two psychologists – John Read and James Davies – to carry out this research?

Where are the prescribers of these SSRI antidepressant substances – psychiatrists and GPs – doctors who have reassured the public for decades that there are no signficant withdrawal problems associated with these substances?

Why have the enthusiastic prescribers of these substances – psychiatrists and GPs – who have continually informed the public that there is no need to worry about withdrawal problems, not carried out research such as this decades ago, before these drugs were unleashed upon an unsuspecting and trusting international public?  

Why are the prescribers not on top of this issue, taking the lead – as any responsible profession would – in relation to the substances they prescribe so widely? 

Why do the prescribers seem to want to know little or nothing about the major issue of prescribed drug dependence, as evidenced by the underwhelming response of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the American Psychiatric Association to this important new research?

Mainstream psychiatry’s refusal to take such findings seriously and address the issues that arise inevitably leaves the vast numbers of people who experience severe antidepressant withdrawal problems alone, unsupported, virtual outcasts, leaving these people with little option but to support each other as best they can, through internet and other groups.

This is yet another scandal.

How many more scandals will mainstream psychiatry be allowed to get away with by our governments, who have ultimate responsibility for the health and welfare of nations’ citizens?

When will governments do what they should have done decades ago – initiated an independent inquiry into mental health, including the practice and ideology of psychiatry, which falsely informs the public that its practices are scientifically valid and trustworthy??? 

Or will governments merely continue to wrongly assume that psychiatry is the ultimate source of mental health knowledge, wisdom and leadership, a deluded position that bears no relation to the facts?

Thirty years in this field has taught me that it is a waste of time trying to encourage mainstream psychiatry to drop its biases.

Change will only come when forces outside of mainstream psychiatry join and insist upon an independent review of how emotional and mental health is understood and addressed. 

Dr. Terry Lynch.

https://doctorterrylynch.com/courses/

Dr. Terry Lynch speaking at the The Health Zone, Limerick, September 2016.

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The Health Zone is a positive health initiative originating from University College, Cork, Ireland. In September 2016, The Health Zone held its first meeting in Limerick, at which I was an invited speaker.

“Towards emotional and psychological maturity” was the theme of the evening. I build my talk around that theme, and around a related and important issue, the need for a new era in mental health.

It’s official: Psychiatric diagnoses are NOT known brain disorders

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According to the prevailing global view of mental health, psychiatric diagnoses – depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), eating disorders, personality disorders etc – are fundamentally brain disorders.

In  a ten-minute video, I address this belief. The truth may surprise you.

Access the video by signing up to my newsletter updates (you can unsubscribe at any time)through the form below.

 

US psychologist Dr. Paula Caplan PhD’s praise for my 2015 book “Depression Delusion Volume One: The Myth of the Brain Chemical imbalance”

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Dr. Paula Caplan Ph. D. is an American clinical and research psychologist and social justice and human rights activist. I first came across Paula and her work about 20 years ago. At that time, I was rapidly losing faith in my medical training in mental health. I was becoming increasingly disillusioned with the medical approach to human distress, including the whole medical approach to psychiatric diagnosis, which made progressively less sense to me the more I critiqued it. Back then, I was grateful to find principled mental health professionals like Paula Caplan and Peter Breggin.

Paula Caplan’s CV is impressive.  She was previously professor of psychology, assistant professor of psychiatry and head of the Center for Women’s Studies at the University of Toronto. She has received much recognition for her work including an Eminent Woman Psychologist award in 1996 from the American Psychological Association, a 1995-96 Presidential Citation for Contributions as Chair of Sexism in Diagnosis Task Force, and a Distinguished Career Award in 2008 from the Association for Women in Psychology.

Paula Caplan was a consultant to two committees appointed by the DSM-4 Task Force’s lead psychiatrist Allen Frances to adjudicate on what should be included in the DSM-4 which was published in 1994. As she subsequently explained, Paula Caplan resigned from these committees on principle:

“I resigned from those committees after two years because I was appalled by the way I saw that good scientific research was often being ignored, distorted, or lied about and the way that junk science was being used as though it were of high quality . . . if that suited the aims of those in charge. I also resigned because I was increasingly learning that giving someone a psychiatric label was extremely unlikely to reduce their suffering but carried serious risks of harm, and when I had reported these concerns and examples of harm to those at the top, they had ignored or even publicly misrepresented the facts. I wrote about what I learned from my insider’s position in my book, They Say You’re Crazy: How the World’s Most Powerful Psychiatrists Decide Who’s Normal (Caplan, 1995).” http://freakoutcrazy.com/category/paula-caplan/ 

I have not yet have the pleasure of meeting Paula, though I’m sure that our paths will cross, given our shared passion for truth in mental health. We have been in regular contact over the years.

I am delighted that Paula felt it appropriate to write the following about my new book Depression Delusion Volume One: The Myth of the Brain Chemical Imbalance on the Stop Psychiatric Diagnosis Harm Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/PLAN.T.Alliance/  (posted 24th October 2015):

“I just finished reading Dr. Terry Lynch’s phenomenal, compelling, scrupulously argued book, Depression Delusion. It is clearly written and hard to put down. It is encyclopedic in that he seems to have read every claim ever made about depression being due to a chemical imbalance in the brain, and he does all the work for us — citing each of these appalling quotations and then walking us step by step through their failures of logic and the stunning lack of evidence behind them. This book is not to be missed! If your library doesn’t have it, urge them to order it right away, and make sure you are first on the list to get it.”

For more information on my books, visit my website https://doctorterrylynch.com/ , where you can download two free chapters, one from each of my most recent books, Depression Delusion and Selfhood.  

 

Mental Health & Happiness Summit: all day today

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Every year for the past few years, the William Glasser Institute hold a Mental Health & Happiness Summit on World Mental Health Day, 10th October. This summit consists of a series of hour-long talks and conversations with people in the mental health sphere. The talks occur consecutively throughout the 24-hour period of World Mental Health Day.

Here is a link to the list of speakers and times, including time zone differences. http://www.mentalhealthandhappiness.com/MHHsummit2015-speakers.html

I’ve had a long association with late US psychiatrist William Glasser and the William Glasser Institute. I have been involved in the Mental health & Happiness Summit in 2014 and again in 2015.  My conversation with Nancy Buck was wide-ranging, covering many aspects of emotional and mental health, psychiatric diagnoses, recovery, and happiness.

I believe the system works by clicking the image of the speaker you might like to hear, at the time of that talk. Clicking the speaker before or after that speaker’s appointed time won’t bring you to their talk, as another speaker will be talking at other times.

It is fitting that William Glasser’s wife Carleen is the first speaker.

 

Podcast: Dr. Terry Lynch, guest on The Peter Breggin Hour, 7th Oct 2015.

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For a quarter of a century, I have been a big fan of US psychiatrist Peter Breggin and his tireless work to change global mental health from a system based on falsehoods and flawed science to an approach based on truth, real science, empathy and humanity.

My relationship with Dr. Peter Breggin has grown from first seeing him on Irish television 25 years ago and reading his classic book Toxic Psychiatry to being an ally and comrade in the vitally important struggle to redress the global understanding of and approach to emotional and mental health. I contributed a comment or two and an endorsement to Peter’s important 2012 book Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal: A Guide for Prescribers, Therapists, Patients and Families. Peter wrote a wonderful endorsement of my 2015 book Depression Delusion Volume One: The Myth of the Brain Chemical Imbalance, referring to my book as “an inestimable service to humanity”.

I was pleased to be Peter Breggin’s guest on his weekly radio show, The Peter Breggin Hour, on 7th October 2015. Here is a link to the podcast of our conversation:

http://drpeterbregginshow.podbean.com/e/the-dr-peter-breggin-hour-%E2%80%93-100715/

We discussed many topics including my new book  Depression Delusion Volume One: The Myth of the Brain Chemical Imbalance and why I wrote it; a better way to understand depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), eating disorders; antidepressants and other psychiatric drugs; psychiatry; psychiatric diagnoses; brain chemical imbalances; counselling and psychotherapy; recovery; and many other important themes.

I was previously Peter’s guest in 2012. During our conversation both Peter and I agreed that we would not leave such a long period of time before we chatted again on his show.

 

Dr. Terry Lynch is Dr. Peter Breggin’s radio show guest on 7th Oct 2015.

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I have had a long association with American psychiatrist and author Peter Breggin. His classic book “Toxic Psychiatry” was transformative for me in my search for truth in mental health, and contributed to my ceasing to work as a typical GP in 2000 to find a better way of understanding and working with people experiencing emotional and mental health problems.

Since then, we have become friends and comrades in the drive for paradigm change in mental health, from a  biologically-dominated paradigm that is severely flawed both logically and scientifically, to a paradigm that is grounded upon people’s experiences (rather than upon doctors’ interpretation of them); that first seeks to make sense of experiences and behaviours rather than reflexly set out to medically pathologize them; that recognises that recovery is not only possible, but a human right.

I will be Peter’s guest on his radio show, The Peter Breggin Hour, on Wednesday 7th October 2015, starting 4 pm Eastern time (9 pm Irish/UK time). Here is a link to the live show:  http://www.breggin.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=285

Among other things, we will be discussing my new book Depression Delusion Volume One: The Myth of the Brain Chemical Imbalance, which Peter has described as “an inestimable service to humanity”. As President John F. Kennedy once said,

“The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie — deliberate, contrived and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. Belief in myths allows the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.”

The show is live, a podcast will be available shortly after the show.

Here is a link to my interview on Peter’s show  on 26th September 2012. This turned out to be an interesting and wide-ranging conversation on mental health, depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, recovery, etc. http://drpeterbregginshow.podbean.com/2012/09/

 

 

 

 

Brain chemical imbalance misinformation on official Alberta Canada government website MyHealth.Alberta.ca

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According to their website, MyHealth.Alberta.ca “was built by the Alberta Government and Alberta Health Services to give Albertans one place to go for ‘health information they can trust’” (emphasis theirs). The site reassures readers that the information on the site is correct, up to date, and written for people who live in Alberta, Canada.

So, here we have an official, government-backed website that ensures its visitors that they can totally trust the accuracy of the site’s content. Pretty convincing. Well, here’s one piece of misinformation – actually, three, the misinformation is repeated three times – that seems to have slipped through their net.

On MyHealth.Alberta.ca’s “Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIS) and Borderline Personality Disorder”, the following unequivocal statements appear (italics mine): “Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) balance brain chemicals called neurotransmitters. Balancing these brain chemicals can relieve symptoms of borderline personality disorder. Symptoms include feeling grouchy or angry, acting without thinking (being impulsive), and depression” https://myhealth.alberta.ca/health/pages/conditions.aspx?hwid=ty6909&

Clicking on the “neurotransmitters” hyperlink on the site brings up the following (italics mine):

“Neurotransmitters are chemicals produced by the nerve cells in the brain that send messages back and forth across the space between the cells (synapse). When the normal balance of these neurotransmitters is upset, headache, depression, or other mental health problems may develop.The neurotransmitters that are believed to play a role in mental functioning are serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine, and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Current as of: November 14, 2014. Author: Healthwise Staff. Medical Review: John Pope, MD – Pediatrics & Donald Sproule, MDCM, CCFP – Family Medicine & David A. Axelson, MD – Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.”

Now, I have just written a book entitled “Depression Delusion Volume One: The Myth of the Brain Chemical Imbalance”. I spent 3 years researching that book. The truth about brain chemicals and borderline personality disorder is identical to that concerning brain chemical imbalances and depression, and it is the following:

Contrary to popular belief, there are no identified brain chemical imbalances in depression or any other psychiatric diagnosis, borderline personality disorder included.

So, here we have an official government site making false claims about the existence of brain chemical imbalances and borderline personality disorder. The above passages, quoted directly from the MyHealth.Alberta.ca’s website, contain 3 false claims (those I put in italics in the above passages).

These claims are false because no chemical imbalances have been scientifically and reliably identified in borderline personality disorder, no more than they have in depression. It appears from the site that this (mis)information has been passed as accurate by two medical doctors, one of whom specialises in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

This really matters. MyHealth.Alberta.ca’s inclusion of this misinformation means that thousands of site visitors will erroneously conclude that brain chemical imbalances are a scientifically identified and known feature of borderline personality disorder. This is simply not true.

So, let’s sum up: Official government site; accuracy in all information promised; three untrue statements about chemical imbalances and borderline personality disorder, validated as correct by two doctors including one psychiatrist.

That’s not okay by me, but this does illustrate why I wrote “Depression Delusion Volume One: The Myth of the Brain Chemical Imbalance” (I will address borderline personality disorder in a future book).

I wrote that book because it is clear that the majority of the Western world has bought into the false notion that chemical imbalances are a known feature of psychiatric diagnoses including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive disorder, eating disorders and borderline personality disorder. This false notion has been disgracefully used by drug companies and the medical profession to persuade millions of people worldwide that there is a scientific biological legitimacy underpinning the prescription of antidepressants and other psychiatric medication. In this book, I explain why convincing the public that this falsehood is a known “fact” has been extremely important to drug companies and the medical profession.

 MyHealth.Alberta.ca should immediately remove these three pieces of misinformation from their website. They should inform their readers that they have done so. They should apologise for misinforming their many readers. I will send the information on this blog to feedback@myhealth.alberta.ca today. If I receive any feedback from them, I will let you know.

Thanks to Anika for drawing my attention to this.

Terry.

 

 

 

Depression Delusion: The Myth of the Brain Chemical Imbalance

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