For those still interested in the recent antidepressant withdrawal debate, here is a new and important instalment. Before we get to the essential part, let us first recall that our systematic review in Addictive Behaviors (2018) showed, among other things, that around half of people who stop antidepressants experience withdrawal. This conclusion was critiqued in […]
Archive | Psychiatric drugs
Antidepressant withdrawal review: authors respond in detail to Mental Elf critique
In this response we will clearly evidence why Hayes and Jauhar’s blog critique of our systematic review was often factually incorrect and was replete with misrepresentations (and/or misunderstandings) that will lead some readers to conclude wrongly that our findings are not robust. The seven points we will make are that Hayes and Jauhar: 1) allege, without […]
CEP survey report shows that antidepressant withdrawal can devastate lives
The following is taken from the conclusion of a CEP survey report published today on behalf of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Prescribed Drug Dependence entitled: ‘Antidepressant Withdrawal: A Survey of Patients’ Experience’: “The responses to this survey make clear the ruinous impact of antidepressant withdrawal on some individuals, as well as the failure of those […]
Research by CEP members reveals many doctors may be failing to warn patients about the risks of antidepressants
The All Party Parliamentary Group for Prescribed Drug Dependence today publishes two new pieces of research, authored by members of CEP, which indicate that many doctors and psychiatrists may be failing to warn patients about the potential risks of antidepressants, and subsequently fail to recognise withdrawal symptoms. Furthermore, sources of NHS support for patients, such […]
Whose interests does the Royal College of Psychiatrists really serve?
When you consult the Royal College of Psychaitrists’s website it proclaims that one if its primary aims is to ‘improve the mental health of individuals, their families and communities’[i]– thus, to act in the public interest. Recent events at the Royal College put that proclamation in serious doubt. The first concerns the College’s public position […]
Patients, academics and psychiatrists formally complain that the president of Royal College of Psychiatrists has misled the public over antidepressant safety
A formal complaint of misleading the public on a matter of public safety has today been lodged with the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCP) against its President, Professor Wendy Burn, and the Chair of its Psychopharmacology Committee, Professor David Baldwin. Burn and Baldwin stated, in a letter to The Times on 24 February, that: ‘[for] […]
The Royal College of Psychiatrists challenged over burying of inconvenient antidepressant data
The following letter was sent, by email, at 2.26pm today: To: Professor Wendy Burn, President – Royal College of Psychiatrists; Professor David Baldwin, Chair, Psychopharmacology Committee – Royal College of Psychiatrists. February 28, 2018 Dear Professors Burn and Baldwin On 24.2.2018 The Times published a letter signed by you, in your capacities as President, and […]
Peter Gøtzsche: Cipriani review does not add anything
This huge systematic review (Cipriani et al 2018) does not add anything to the knowledge we already had about depression pills. Briefly, the effects as estimated on the Hamilton scale are very similar to those reported in a another huge meta-analysis in early 2017 (Jakobsen JC, Katakam KK, Schou A, et al. Selective serotonin reuptake […]
Do antidepressants work? The new research proves nothing new
The Council for Evidence-based Psychiatry 22 February 2018 For immediate release: Cipriani’s et al’s new research on whether antidepressants work has generated much excitement in the news media as well as the psychiatric community. The study has been represented by the Royal College of Psychiatrists as “finally putting to bed the controversy on anti-depressants“. This statement […]
The Chair of the Petitions Committee is looking for people in Wales to tell their stories of prescribed drug dependence
The Chair of the Petitions Committee, David Rowlands AM, has requested written evidence from people in Wales about their experience of Prescribed Drug Dependence and their opinions on what support services there are on offer and what could be improved. His letter states: “The Committee has agreed to seek the views and experiences of people […]