Rethinking Psychiatric Drugs: A Guide for Informed Consent

-- Are patients aware of the fact that pharmacological therapies stress the brain in ways which may prevent or postpone symptomatic and functional recovery ? ==================================================== Rethinking Psychiatric Drugs: A Guide for Informed Consent is a critical appraisal of the medications which an estimated 20% of Americans consume on a regular (and sometimes involuntary) basis. It is the philosophically, epidemiologically, and scientifically supported revelation of how and why psychiatry's drug therapies have contributed to a standard of care which frequently does more to harm than to cure. Extensively researched and documented, the book addresses: -- the process by which psychiatric drugs reach the market -- the history and philosophy of Evidence Based Medicine -- the common flaws in research methodologies which negate the validity of the psychiatric RCT (Randomized Controlled Trial) -- the problem of allostatic load (how drugs stress the body) -- the history, long term effects, and utility of the drugs used to suppress symptoms of depression, psychosis, inattention and hyperactivity -- the effectiveness of alternatives to medication Rethinking Psychiatric Drugs: A Guide for Informed Consent exposes the current crisis in medical ethics and epistemology, and attempts to restore to psychiatry an authentically informed consent to care.

Dr. Grace Jackson is a board certified psychiatrist who graduated summa cum laude from California Lutheran University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Bachelor of Science in Biology, as well as a Masters Degree in Public Administration. She earned her Medical Degree from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in 1996 and completed her internship and residency while in the U. S. Navy. Following her service as a staff psychiatrist at Bethesda Naval Hospital, she worked in the North Carolina prison system. Dr. Jackson has lectured widely in the United States and Europe, and has testified as an expert witness in forced medication trials. Her interests include philosophy, history, politics, and law.