Mad in America: Bad Science, Bad Medicine, and the Enduring Mistreatment of the Mentally Ill

Written by AbleChild on August 9, 2022. Posted in Essential Books.

This book is a heavily-researched history, background and overview of the barbaric and inhumane treatments of the mentally ill that would shock any reader. Mad in America: Bad Science, Bad Medicine, and the Enduring Mistreatment provides much-needed muckracking into what has really been going on with mental health in the United States for the past couple of centuries.

This book really digs into the science and doesn’t just accept the medical, psychiatric and pharmaceutical industries’ marketing jargon that so many have come to believe over the years. The research in Mad in America goes back to the moral therapy used by the Quakers in the early 1800s, the eugenics movement of the mentally ill that took place in the 1930s, and takes a magnifying glass to how schizophrenics are really doing in the present day (they happen to be worse off than patients in some of the poorest countries, according to the research done in this book).

Mad in America also breaks apart many of the narratives the pharmaceutical industry has peddled about psychiatric medication and how it has supposedly allowed higher functioning of the mentally ill. Once again, this content is all backed by medical journalist Robert Whitaker’s exhaustive research and data. This book is packed with solid historical and scientific data that connects the dots about something that plays such a huge part in our every day lives: mental health and psychiatry. Mad in America has already made a lasting impact on America, and is sure to continue doing so for years to come.

About the Author

Robert Whitaker is an American medical journalist and author, whose books include Anatomy of an Epidemic (which won the 2010 Investigative Reporters and Editors book award for best investigative journalism), Mad in America, ( which was named by Discover magazine as one of the best science books of 2002), On the Laps of Gods and The Mapmaker’s Wife.

He has written numerous articles about the mentally ill and pharmaceutical industry, which have led him to receive several awards: the George Polk Award for Medical Writing, a National Association of Science Writers’ Award for best magazine article, and Whitaker was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. Whitaker co-wrote a series on series on psychiatric research for the Boston Globe in 1998, and has published more than twenty short stories in literary magazines such as the Indiana Review, Black Warrior Review, Florida Review, and Columbia: A Magazine of Poetry and Prose. Whitaker is now the publisher of MadinAmerica.com.

Reviews

Mother Jones:

“A passionate, compellingly researched polemic, as fascinating as it is ultimately horrifying.”

Chicago Tribune:

“Controversial…. [Whitaker] marshals a surprising amount of evidence.”

Seattle Times:

“Intelligent and bold.”

Psychiatry, the Ultimate Betrayal

Written by AbleChild on August 9, 2022. Posted in Essential Books.

This book is an eye-opener that gives a remarkably thorough history of psychiatry, dating back from the 19th century to the present day. It exposes the manner in which power, money and influence helped peddle theories as facts, which all led to the stronghold that psychiatry had developed on our world today.

Psychiatry, the Ultimate Betrayal covers everything from electric shock treatments in the 50s to the Holocaust. It examines the role that politicians and the media have had over the years. It really gives the reader an entirely new outlook on ideas so many of us just accepted for years without much thought. It shows how many people believed the lies and unknowingly helped contribute to the growth of this monster, and how many others knew all along that they were hurting our children and robbing them of education and growth, but did it anyways.

This very well-researched book schools our society on the fact that these professionals we have listened to and let infiltrate every area of our lives and our children’s lives, who we allow to tell us what is wrong with us and how we should fix it, have no concern in our best interest. Psychiatry, the Ultimate Betrayal says that now is the time we break apart these evil forces and starting turning society around.

About the Author

Bruce Wiseman is a human rights advocate who has fought for several decades to expose and end human rights abuses in the area of mental health. He is an internationally renowned speaker on the topic of psychiatric abuses, having made over 600 radio and television appearances on the damages psychiatry is inflicting on society, ranging from psychiatric drugs to psychiatric sexual abuse to electro shock therapy. He has done extensive work with legislative and judicial authorities in efforts to eliminate these mental health system abuses, and even testified against involuntary commitment of children in front of the New Jersey Supreme Court Committee. Wiseman is a former chairman of the Department of History at the John F. Kennedy University, and currently serves as the U.S. national president of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights. He holds a master’s degree cum laude from California State University at San Jose, and resides in Los Angeles with his family.

Reviews

Clinton Miller, National Council for Improved Health:

“Not since Paul Revere took his midnight ride to alert our forefathers that the British were coming has a WARNING been so urgently needed as the wake-up call you deliver in PSYCHIATRY-THE ULTIMATE BETRAYAL”

Morton Feldman, Executive Vice President, National Association of Chiefs of Police:

“Psychiatry-The Ultimate Betrayal…answers a tremendous number of questions as to what happened to cause the social unrest we see on a daily basis in this country.”

Director, Office of Consumer Affairs, New Hampshire Hospital, Concord:

“I think you know that I found Ultimate Betrayal to be unrivaled portrayal of psychiatry’s essential tendency to engage in social engineering under the guise of ‘medical expertise’–a dangerous role that they cleverly cultivate at our expense. This book is extremely well done, and I sincerely hope that it will be widely read.”

The Boy Who Burned Too Brightly

Written by AbleChild on August 9, 2022. Posted in Essential Books.

This book is an excellent resource for parents, teachers, school counselors and anyone that works with children. It is an allegorical tale that paints an excellent picture of what it’s like for children diagnosed with ADD, ADHD and other psychiatric labels, and how these children are treated in the school system. The Boy Who Burned Too Brightly, written by David J. Welsh, is a fiction story about a town where everyone has a flame burning on the top of their head. Randall is a boy who is unique and his parents love that about him and don’t think there is anything wrong until a teacher points out the brightness of his flame and he is then brought to a “child pyrologist” who diagnoses him with Defective Flicker Syndrome.

In the book, Randall is then medicated with a drink called “quiescence,” which is representative of the psychiatric drugs such as Ritalin, Adderall, Prozac and Zoloft that millions of children are prescribed in our world today. In The Boy Who Burned Too Brightly, Randall’s differentness is suppressed, and those around him want his behavior to be more consistent with those around him, instead of magnifying his special and unique attributes and letting them truly shine. The book shows that to some people a flame may be too bright, but to others, brightness is a true gift that should be encouraged and shone to the world.

About the Author

Dr. David J. Welsh is an educational psychologist who has been in private practice in Forth Worth, Texas since 1985. Aside from writing books, he was also a producer and host of a show called Issues of the Mind from 1987 to 1997. He received his bachelor’s degree from Colorado State University in 1975, then went on to get his master’s degree in educational psychology from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 1978, and was awarded his PhD in educational psychology from the University of Texas in 1984. Dr. Welsh is a member of the American Psychological Association and Texas Psychological Association. He is also a former president of the Tarrant County Psychological Association.

Reviews

Jane L. Brown, RN, Center for Effective Learning, Virginia Beach, VA:

“I missed several words on my first read–I had tears in my eyes. It’s absolutely wonderful!”

Ron Rubin, Center for Developmental Disabilities, Univ. of Vermont:

“In a world that espouses honoring diversity, it stands out as a heart-felt treatment of what ‘honoring’ truly means.”

La Nelle Gallagher, Learning Disabilities Association of Texas:

“This book is probably the most creative and clever book on learning differences I have ever read!”

Author Dr. Thomas Armstrong:

“Certainly hits the nail on the head. I enjoyed reading it and will share this book with others.”

A Dose of Sanity: Mind, Medicine, and Misdiagnosis

Written by AbleChild on August 9, 2022. Posted in Essential Books.

Neuropsychiatrist Dr. Sydney Walker once again draws on his decades of experience to shine light on psychiatry’s over-reliance on psychiatric labels in this book. He explains how psychiatrists and mental health professionals have become accustomed to running down a list of symptoms and throwing a label on their patients. Instead, mental health professionals need to do further investigation to find if there are any underlying medical issues causing these symptoms, whether it’s hyperactivity, memory loss or depression. As a result of this over-reliance on psychiatric drugs, studies show that the rate of misdiagnosis is more than 4 in 10.

Beneath these symptoms that are all-too-quickly categorized as psychiatric disorders, are often medical conditions such as poor nutrition, Lyme disease, allergies or hypothyroidism. In A Dose of Sanity: Mind, Medicine, and Misdiagnosis, Dr. Walker teaches readers to take a step back and evaluate symptoms on a deeper, biological level to start understanding what they really mean. Dr. Walker believes that psychiatry is moving towards the hypothetical realm with the manner in which it diagnoses patients, and he offers an approach in this book that goes beyond this.

One of the useful tools included in A Dose of Sanity is the 24-hour profile that mental health consumers can use to track emotional and physical changes throughout the day to give their psychiatrist a more accurate picture of how they are feeling, and the patterns and causes surrounding their symptoms. For all mental health consumers, whether you are experiencing symptoms yourself and/or have been labelled, or if you have a loved one that has told you they have been labeled hyperactive, depression, dementia, etc., this book is a must-read.

About the Author

Sydney Walker III, M.D., is a board-certified neuropsychiatrist, Director of the Southern California Neuropsychiatric Institute, and founder of Behavioral Neurology International. His other books include Help for the Hyperactive Child, Psychiatric Signs and Symptoms Due to Medical Problems, and The Hyperactivity Hoax: How to Stop Drugging Your Child and Find Real Medical Help.

Reviews

Charles B. Inlander – President, People’s Medical Society:

“Bravo to Dr. Sydney Walker. He has written a masterful book for current and prospective mental health consumers. Before filling a prescription for Prozac or Ritalin, make sure you get A Dose of Sanity.”

The Hyperactivity Hoax : How To Stop Drugging Your Child And Find Real Medical Help

Written by AbleChild on August 8, 2022. Posted in Essential Books.

This book is written by neuropsychiatrist Dr. Sydney Walker, who is willing and determined to find the root of hyperactive behavior in children, instead of rushing to place psychiatric labels on them. With the rampant diagnoses of children with ADD, ADHD and hyperactivity, Dr. Walker examines what these labels mean, and whether the prescribed treatment of stimulants such as Ritalin is working.

In Dr. Walker’s private practice, he often discovered that a child that had been labeled as ADD or ADHD was misdiagnosed and in fact had displayed the hyperactive symptoms because of an underlying medical illness such as diabetes, food poisoning or allergies. In The Hyperactivity Hoax : How To Stop Drugging Your Child And Find Real Medical Help, Dr. Walker helps parents find safe and effective treatments for their child’s symptoms without prescribing them psychotropic drugs that are likely to be unnecessary and potentially cause other long-term issues for the child due to their side effects. The book also offers some entertainment with how candidly Dr. Walker calls out the psychiatric field and DSM-IV.

Dr. Walker offers valuable advice in this book for parents regarding how to determine if your child needs medical attention, how to find the medical help you need, alternative treatments for their child’s behavioral issues, how to stand your ground when dealing with doctors and school officials, and how to provide better overall care for your child.

About the Author

Reviews

Marilyn Chase, The Wall Street Journal:

“His mission is to embolden families to say ‘no’ to the Ritalin fad.”

Bernard Rimland, Ph.D., Director, Autism Research Institute:

“Dr. Walker’s book is must reading for parents who want real solutions for their children–not just ‘wastebasket’ labels such as hyperactivity and ADD. I recommend it highly to parents–and their doctors.”

Publisher’s Weekly:

“Walker, director of the Southern California Neuropsychiatric Institute, makes a dramatic case against the widespread use of the drug Ritalin to treat hyperactive children, [pointing] a finger at hurried doctors who treat symptoms without identifying underlying causes.”

Charles Inlander, President, People’s Medical Society

“Finally someone breaks the myth about hyperactivity….Not only does it clearly show that hyperactivity is a professional excuse for medical incompetence, but it gives parents a real action plan for helping their children. It’s about time an esteemed physician spoke out. Bravo, Sydney Walker.”

The Feel-Good Curriculum: The Dumbing-Down of America’s Kids in the Name of Self-Esteem

Written by AbleChild on August 7, 2022. Posted in Essential Books.

In this book, author and education professor Maureen Stout gives a much-needed examination of some very significant changes that have taken place in the education system. These changes are the result of the self-esteem movement that seems to be taking over the school curriculums and other areas of culture as well. So many new trends and theories have been popping up that are all related to this movement, from emotional intelligence to Ebonics to Howard Gardner’s theories of multiple intelligences, which Stout examines in this book.

In The Feel-Good Curriculum: The Dumbing Down of America’s Kids in the Name of Self-Esteem, Stout delves into the history of how this self-esteem movement came to be, and why it’s ultimately detrimental to our children’s learning curve. She explains how schools have become more of a grounds for therapy than quality education nowadays, and condemns the styles in which the teachers have been trained to systematically push self-esteem in every area of their instruction to our children, from the school curriculum to the class environment. Stout explains how as a result of the self-esteem obsession, our children are underachieving and lacking true confidence that comes from actually putting in the work and earning the rewards.

Stout also offers practical solutions in The Feel Good Curriculum. She identifies four effects that stem from self-esteem’s infiltration of our school system: narcissism, emotivism, separatism, and cynicism. Then, Stout prescribes four concepts that should be used to replace these effects and restore our children’s education back to what it should be: a system that produces effective and strong adults that know the value of hard work, are aware of their strengths and weaknesses, and are prepared to contribute to the world in a meaningful way.

About the Author

Maureen Stout is an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the California State University, Northridge. She resides in Los Angeles, and also wrote Teaching and Learning Outside the Box: Inspiring Imagination Across the Curriculum.

Reviews

Library Journal:

“A passionately argued and fluidly written attack on contemporary education philosophy.”

Dumbing Down Our Kids: Why American Children Feel Good About Themselves but Can’t Read, Write, Or Add

Written by AbleChild on August 7, 2022. Posted in Essential Books.

In this book, author Charles J. Sykes addresses what he considers to be the problem with the high pedestal on which self-esteem has been placed in the education system, which sacrifices children’s ability to read, write, add, subtract and compute. He attributes this issue to the way teachers have been trained, and educational policies that have been developed. Sykes says that while today’s children feel good about their abilities, they are in reality much less capable than children from previous generations.

In Dumbing Down Our Kids: Why American Children Feel Good About Themselves But Can’t Read, Write, or Add, Sykes explains that the education system has a growing budget and taxpayers are paying more out of pocket for education. Yet, the quality of education is going down the tubes. Children are having to meet lower requirements for standardized testing, and the system is designed to make everyone pass, but it’s not designed to allow students to master any skills or abilities.

As time goes by, America’s children may have better self-esteem, but they are scoring lower and lower in international math and science tests. How are we to solve this problem, get our children back to focusing on their basic abilities, and restore quality education? Sykes lays out solutions and steps that parents and teachers and students can use to fix all of this.

About the Author

Charles J. Sykes is an accomplished author, editor and talk show host. Hailing from Wisconsin, he had a very highly rated talk show there. After stepping down in 2016 from his talk show, he became a contributor for NBC/MSNBC as well as contributing editor for The Weekly Standard. He has also hosted other podcasts and radio shows. Sykes has written for publications including The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Politico, New York Review of Books, Newsweek and Time.com, and has made appearances on networks including ABC, PBS, CNN, Fox News, the BBC, and NPR.

Sykes also serves as a sitting member to organizations like Advisory Committee for the Democracy Fund and Knight Commission on Trust, Media, and Democracy. Other books Sykes has published include “A Nation of Victims,” “Profscam,” “The Hollow Men,” “The End of Privacy,” “50 Rules Kids Won’t Learn in School, “A Nation of Moochers,” “Fail U” and “How the Right Lost Its Mind,” which is an eye-opening analysis of Trump-era conservatism.

Reviews

The Boston Globe:

“This intelligent and devastating book…brings together every aspect of the current disaster…all in clear, well-researched detail.”

Cleveland Plain Dealer:

“A spirited call-to-arms…Sykes asks brave questions.”

Kirkus Review:

“A scathing critique that grabs America’s educational establishment by the scruff and shakes it…Parents and visionary educators, if not educrats, should sit up and take notice.”

Washington Post Book World:

“A very important book.”

Controlling the Difficult Adolescent: The R.E.S.T. Program (The Real Economy System for Teens) (The Real Economy for Teens)

Written by AbleChild on July 15, 2022. Posted in Essential Books.

This book by Dr. David b. Stein, published in 1990, focuses on what society has come to know as “oppositional and defiant adolescents.” These teens typically display abusive and disruptive behavior to parents, teachers, other authority figures, friends and family members. It can be difficult to effectively treat these behaviors, since these teens do not respond well to conventional psychotherapy. As a result, many time teens with oppositional and defiant behavior are hospitalized.

This is why Dr. Stein has introduced this book to help treat teens exhibiting these behaviors. Controlling the Difficult Adolescent: The R.E.S.T. Program targets parents and teachers, showing them how they can correct these behaviors in teens without resorting to hospitalization. In the beginning, solid and clear rules and expectations are set for the teen’s behavior. These rules are enforced by methodically regulating the teen’s economic resources.

The methods Dr. Stein introduces in Controlling the Difficult Adolescent: The R.E.S.T. Program are backed by solid research and are guaranteed to bring results for a better behaved, more productive, more obedient, happier and more peaceful teen. Topics addressed in the book’s various chapters include suicide, substance abuse, lying, aggression, poor school performance and discipline/punishment. Not only will teens that are treated with this program have happiness and success for themselves, but their relationships with those around them will also thrive.

About the Author

Dr. David B. Stein is a psychologist who worked as a clinical practitioner and professor of psychology in Virginia. He also was deputized with the Prince George Co. Police Department in Virginia, and worked as a criminal profiling consultant for Petersburg and Virginia State Police. Dr. Stein is an accomplished author who spent most of his career fighting against and exposing the evils of using amphetamine drugs such as Ritalin to treat children with ADD and ADHD. His other books include The Psychology Industry Under a Microscope, Ritalin is Not the Answer: A Drug-Free Practical Program for Children Diagnosed with ADD or ADHD, Unraveling the ADD/ADHD Fiasco, and Stop Medicating, Start Parenting. He passed away in 2016 at the age of 73 years old, and is survived by his wife, two sons and two grandchildren.

Unraveling the ADD/ADHD Fiasco

Written by AbleChild on July 15, 2022. Posted in Essential Books.

This is another groundbreaking book from psychologist Dr. David B. Stein, which was published in 2001. Unraveling the ADD/ADHD Fiasco is, like other books written by Dr. Stein, based on his highly successful Cargivers’ Skill Program, which provides parents with skills to teach their children to approach learning with more enthusiasm, and to respect and honor authority figures in the home and at school.

In the book, Dr. Stein addresses the rapid rise in children being diagnosed with ADD and ADHD, and questions the pharmaceutical solutions that are so often being provided to treat these conditions in children. Dr. Stein raises concerns over the theories of ADD and ADHD, and the riskiness of prescribing amphetamine drugs like Ritalin to children as a way to treat these behavioral disorders. Dr. Stein suggests that this sudden rise in ADD and ADHD diagnoses are being brought on by children misbehaving and not being able to perform in school, which could be a result of the current status quo in modern society’s parenting and teaching institutions.

To help educators, physicians, therapists and parents treat these growing behavioral problems in children, Dr. Stein suggests an alternative to medications. His Caregivers’ Skill Program has been proven highly effective, and Stein uses case studies from his own practice to demonstrate this. This solution will lead to happier, healthier, better educated and better behaving children who have more harmonious relationships with their authority figures.

About the Author

Dr. David B. Stein is a psychologist who worked as a clinical practitioner and professor of psychology in Virginia. He also was deputized with the Prince George Co. Police Department in Virginia, and worked as a criminal profiling consultant for Petersburg and Virginia State Police. Dr. Stein is an accomplished author who spent most of his career fighting against and exposing the evils of using amphetamine drugs such as Ritalin to treat children with ADD and ADHD. His other books include The Psychology Industry Under a Microscope, Controlling the Difficult Adolescent: The REST Program, Ritalin is Not the Answer: A Drug-Free Practical Program for Children Diagnosed with ADD or ADHD, and Stop Medicating, Start Parenting. He passed away in 2016 at the age of 73 years old, and is survived by his wife, two sons and two grandchildren.

Reviews

Dr. Bose Ravenel, co-author of The Diseasing of America’s Children: Exposing the ADHD Fiasco and Empowering Parents to Take Back Control:

“I am a practicing pediatrian with a heavy emphasis on behavioral problems. After reading Dr. Stein’s former book RITALIN IS NOT THE ANSWER, although skeptical because so much of conventional ‘wisdom’ about managing ADD was challenged, I cautiously began to offer this approach to select parents. The results were impressive in several cases, and this fueled my desire to learn more about Dr. Stein’s approach. Having now begun to offer the CSP (Skilled Caregivers Program) for any parent who prefers a non-medication method of dealing with ADD/ADHD behaviors, I continue to experience success in a number of cases where previously medication offered the only hope for improvement. The current volume amplifies on what Dr. Stein has previously written, and adds a number of areas to supplement the fundamental behavioral premises and techniques. Having had an opportunity to read the manuscript twice prior to its current availability, I am most impressed and unhestitatingly recommend it for any parent dealing with this issue and for professionals who would like to be able to help parents to manage their child’s behavior problems effectively without having to resort to medications.”

Ritalin is Not the Answer: A Drug-Free Practical Program for Children Diagnosed with ADD or ADHD

Written by AbleChild on July 13, 2022. Posted in Essential Books.

This book, written by psychologist Dr. David B. Stein and published in 1999, highlights the fact that nearly one-tenth of American children are being prescribed psychotropic drugs which have a slew of serious side effects, and he offers an alternative to these medications. Most of the children on these medications are diagnosed with either attention deficit disorder (ADD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). How strange is it that twenty years earlier, these psychiatric labels did not exist?

The common side effects of many of the medications prescribed for ADD and ADHD include insomnia, irritability, anorexia, nausea, dizziness, and heart palpitations. And there is a growing trend of drugs like Ritalin and other speed-like medications in this category being used recreationally and sold as street drugs.

Ritalin is Not the Answer: A Drug-Free Practical Program for Children Diagnosed with ADD or ADHD challenges the status quo and offers parents and teachers an alternative solution to the prevalent go-to use of psychiatric drugging. In the book, Dr. Stein lays out a step-by-step behavioral treatment program called the Caregivers Skill Program. This plan is based on clinical trials and research, and is meant to help children behave better at home, focus better in school, and to be more motivated and emotionally healthy overall. The program is easy to put into action, and the book also provides advice and insight for parents feeling pressured by the school system and psychiatric profession to put their children on medication.

About the Author

Dr. David B. Stein is a psychologist who worked as a clinical practitioner and professor of psychology in Virginia. He also was deputized with the Prince George Co. Police Department in Virginia, and worked as a criminal profiling consultant for Petersburg and Virginia State Police. Dr. Stein is an accomplished author who spent most of his career fighting against and exposing the evils of using amphetamine drugs such as Ritalin to treat children with ADD and ADHD. His other books include The Psychology Industry Under a Microscope, Controlling the Difficult Adolescent: The REST Program, Unraveling the ADD/ADHD Fiasco, and Stop Medicating, Start Parenting. He passed away in 2016 at the age of 73 years old, and is survived by his wife, two sons and two grandchildren.

Reviews

John Rosemond, Family Psychologist, Author and Nationally Syndicated Columnist:

“My faith in my profession is almost renewed! Stein not only flies in the face of conventional psychological ”wisdom” where ADD/ADHD is concerned, but he has written a book that is completely devoid of psychobabble. Even if you don’t have a child with attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, buy ”Ritalin Is Not the Answer”. Thank you, Dr. Stein, for bringing a thousand rays of sunshine to America’s children.”

John W. Verheul, diplomate, American Academy of Family Practice:

“This book should be read by every physician before prescribing Ritalin and is an absolute must for any parent of a child diagnosed as having ADD and ADHD.”

Edward D. Smith, professor of psychology, Longwood College:

“Stein has years of experience at successfully treating hyperactive children without the use of drugs. Any parent who thinks his or her child may have an attention disorder (ADD or ADHD) should read this clear and practical book before seeking treatment.”