This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
Below are posts I’ve written on efforts to understand and treat mental illnesses and disorders, from depression to alcoholism. Please let me know about missing stories, broken links or other problems. See also my books The Undiscovered Mind and Rational Mysticism.
PSYCHIATRY AND PSYCHOTHERAPY
Psychiatry in Crisis: Mental Health Director Rejects Psychiatric Bible and Replaces With… Nothing.
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Are Psychiatric Medications Making Us Sicker?
Are Antidepressants Just Placebos with Side Effects?
Did Antidepressant Play a Role in Navy Yard Massacre?
Psychiatrists, Instead of Being Embarrassed by Placebo Effect, Should Embrace It.
RxISK Database Reports Side Effects, Including Violence, Unreported by Pharma Firms.
Why Screening Teens for Mental Illness Is a Terrible Idea.
Return of Electro-cures Exposes Psychiatry’s Weakness.
Bipolar Writer Comments on Debate Over “Crisis in Psychiatry.”
What 60 Minutes Gets Wrong in Report on Mental Illness and Violence.
Why “Color Cures” for Mental Illness Endure.
Cybertherapy, placebos and the dodo effect: Why psychotherapies never get better.
Why B.F. Skinner, Like Freud, Isn’t Dead.
Alcoholics Anonymous Ain’t Perfect, But At Least It’s Free.
Programs for Troubled Vets Don’t Work, So How About Ending War?
Beware the Military-Psychological Complex.
Neuroscientists Don’t Believe in Souls—But That Doesn’t Mean They Can’t Sell Theirs.
BRAIN IMPLANTS
Much-Hyped Brain-Implant Treatment for Depression Suffers Setback.
Much-touted deep-brain stimulation treatment for depression fails another trial.
Patient in Failed Depression-Implant Trial Tells His Painful Story.
The Forgotten Era of Brain Chips (Scientific American Magazine).
Why Optogenetic Methods for Manipulating Brains Don’t Light Me Up.
Why Optogenetics Doesn’t Light Me Up: The Sequel.
MEDITATION AND BUDDHISM
Meta-meditation: A Skeptic Meditates on Meditation.
Research on TM and Other Forms of Meditation Stinks.
Do All Cults, Like All Psychotherapies, Exploit the Placebo Effect?
Why Buddha Isn't Dead--and Psychology Still Isn't Really a Science.
PSYCHEDELICS
DMT is in your head, but it may be too weird for psychedelic renaissance.
As Psychedelic Revival Rolls On, Don't Downplay Bad Trips.
Does Psychedelic Therapy Exploit the Placebo Effect?
Doubts about psychedelics from Albert Hofmann, LSD’s discoverer.
My Lunch with Psychedelic Chemist Sasha Shulgin.
What Should We Do With Our Visions of Heaven—and Hell?
Tripping in LSD’s Birthplace: A Story for ‘Bicycle Day’.
Was Psychedelic Guru Terence McKenna Goofing About 2012 Prophecy?
If religion is a side effect of sex, does that mean God doesn't exist?
Can a Hole in Your Head Get You High?
OLIVER SACKS