Neoliberalism and chasing the American dream down the rabbit hole. Privatised mental health in Australia has grown uncontrolled without delivering the wanted outcomes
Mental health care in the US is a disaster. The private insurance industry is a major reason why.
The drug scored positive results in a clinical trial designed to meet FDA standards.
Source: Study Moves Therapeutic Use of MDMA Toward FDA Approval
Political life in America is already a bad trip for many. What could the Biden Admin be planning for?
President Joe Biden’s administration “anticipates” that regulators will approve MDMA and psilocybin within the next two years for designated breakthrough therapies for PTSD and depression respectively. The administration is “exploring the prospect of establishing a federal task force to monitor” the emerging psychedelic treatment ecosystem, according to the letter sent by assistant secretary for mental health and substance use Miriam Delphin-Rittmon to Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa.
Biden Administration Plans for Legal Psychedelic Therapies Within Two Years
Because they have no political influence they are left behind
“We’ve [heard] reports of people self-harming just to get into hospitals, just so they can see a psychiatrist because they can’t get in any other way,” he said.
Source: People from diverse backgrounds struggle to find adequate mental health support – ABC News
There’s been a lot of hype around microdosing psychedelics as a potential treatment for depression, anxiety and PTSD — but what does the research actually say about it?
Source: Can microdosing psychedelics improve your mental health? Here’s what the science says – ABC News
The greatest shame looking back is that it wasn’t science that put us 50-60 years back and behind the 8 ball. It wasn’t science that misinformed us and restricted our work on Climate. Its’ not science that is screwing us with Covid either.
After early psychiatric experimentation in the 1950s and ‘60s, followed by decades of prohibition – sparked in part by the backlash against the hippy counterculture – psychedelics are experiencing a renaissance. A new wave of research has returned to hallucinogenic drugs as potential candidates to treat psychiatric conditions.
In the meantime, parts of the US are embracing psychedelics. In 2019, the city of Denver decriminalised magic mushrooms, or psilocybin, after a referendum. In 2020, Oregon became the first US state to vote to legalise psilocybin for therapeutic use. Garcia-Romeu is wary about people believing that psychedelics might offer a “magic pill that will solve all their problems. “I always say, ‘This is not going to pay your bills, it’s not going to wash your dishes, or fix your relationship with your estranged family members.’ “You don’t just take a pill, and all of a sudden you’re in fantastic shape.”
Source: Can psilocybin and MDMA treat mental health problems?
Improving your brain fitness
Can you make your brain work harder?
Clinical trials using magic mushrooms, ecstasy and other psychedelic drugs in potential breakthrough therapies for debilitating mental illnesses will be funded by the federal government as part of global efforts to advance innovative treatments. There is growing international evidence showing substances such as ketamine, psilocybin and MDMA can successfully treat resistant mental illnesses, including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, when used in a controlled environment and supported by psychiatric care.
‘Better treatments’: Government to fund psychedelic drugs trials to treat mental illness
A coalition of more than 20 disability organisations released a statement yesterday setting out significant concerns over the federal government’s plans to introduce independent assessments to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
‘Dehumanising’ and ‘a nightmare’: why disability groups want NDIS independent assessments scrapped
Key points:
- Dr Stephanie Cacioppo puts loneliness in the same category as thirst — a signal that can be dealt with through our actions
- She says her goal is not to stop loneliness but to regulate the way it affects the mind and body
- A medical ethicist says a pill to treat loneliness is intrinsically wrong-headed and unethical
Just as we reach for a drink when we are thirsty or dehydrated, we might be able to take a pill to deal with the consequences of feeling lonely in the future.
“Like thirst, loneliness is a biological signal that has evolved to protect our survival,” she says.
This is an area in which the NDIS fails to address and the service shows its ignorance and reluctance to even try. People without family supports aren’t capable with dealing with the bureacracy which polices them out of the system altogether rather than protects them. Trust is totally lost in others and in onesself and hiding from any welfare seems the most rational option for everyone. (ODT)
“You’re wasting resources trying to provide mental health services to people who don’t have stable housing,” Ms Smith said.
Historically, the mental health system included accommodation because people were ‘housed’ in institutions. When institutions closed there was an expectation patients would be accommodated in public housing, or in housing with supports attached.
But this deinstitutionalisation took place at a time when Australian governments were reducing their investment in social housing, creating a “perfect storm”,
State urged to examine dire housing need in mental health probe
When money isn’t the solution and politics is guaranteed to fail the community’s most vulnerable by increasing the risk of their stress and isolation. (ODT)
“The average NDIS package value is nearly three times the average level of funding clients currently receive through the Mental Health Community Support Services program,” Martin Foley, Victoria’s Minister for Housing, Disability, and Ageing, said in a statement.”
But for Mr Gibbard, that essential service is changing with the transition to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
Ms Stringer’s visits will end by December.
She works for the not-for-profit social and health agency EACH, and her support work is funded through Victoria’s Mental Health Community Support Service (MHCSS).
As the NDIS rolls out in areas of Victoria, the MHCSS is being wrapped up.
Right now, there are more than 900 full and part-time workers in Victoria doing mental health outreach paid for by the MHCSS.
By July next year — when the NDIS fully rolls out across the state — there will be none.
“It’s a shame because we’re going to be losing a lot of workers who are really skilled in mental health,” Ms Stringer says.
The gut microbiome – the world of bacteria living in our digestive system – doesn’t just exist to give us stomach aches or to help us break down food. Rese
The gut microbiome – the world of bacteria living in our digestive system – doesn’t just exist to give us stomach aches or to help us break down food. Research is rapidly emerging from the scientific community that suggests these little critters have a huge impact on our behavior, including (potentially) on our response to fear.
Source: Our Gut Microbes Strongly Influence Our Emotional Behaviors | IFLScience
Sometimes a little can go a long way, and while taking tiny amounts of psychedelic drugs like LSD and magic mushrooms may not produce the earth-shattering
Source: Here’s Why LSD Microdosing Could Be The Next Major Breakthrough In Mental Healthcare | IFLScience
A 59-year-old man walking his dog in Sydney’s west on Saturday afternoon was allegedly stabbed multiple times by a man inspired by Islamic State.
Source: Man charged with committing terrorist act in Sydney and attempted murder
The Turnbull government plans to end a program that funds specialist centres for children with psychotic disorders, prompting concerns from mental health experts that suicide rates will rise.
Source: ‘Futures will be lost’: Health fears as youth psychosis program dropped
Source: Viral Alternative News
This is a brave and enlightened mental health package from the Turnbull Government. Now it must show the same diligence with the implementation.
Source: One giant step for mental health reform – The Drum (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
The use of forcible restraints and lock-ups are a denial of human rights and can never be the answer to managing challenging behaviour.
Source: Box to ‘calm’ students highlights urgent need to overhaul disability regime
As stigma is reduced and knowledge increased, it is vital that more clinical and other resources be made available.
Source: Buddy Franklin’s role in the never-ending battle against mental illness
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