The Dr. Peter Breggin Hour

I love this hour with my friend Jeanne Stolzer and hope  you will, too. We unexpectedly spent the show talking about what psychiatric drugs, alcohol, and marijuana  (and all potent psychoactive drugs) are doing to the personal lives of individual children and adults and to society, and what life would be like without these toxic chemicals.  The conversation inspired me to take notes as I was listening and talking.  Jeanne is a professor of child and adolescent development, and brings an enormous heart and equally enormous intelligence to questions surrounding human life.

Richard “Red” Lawhern is a brilliant, passionate, hardworking nonmedical advocate for pain patients.   Listen to this show and you will never look at pain medications in same light.  Unlike psychiatric drugs, we both find that opiate and opioid pain medications are often under-prescribed.  The under-prescribing of opiates is partly because of the fear of addiction, and partly because drug companies push more expensive drugs that do not work as well and cause more harm.  Richard explains how the DEA has intruded into the practice of medicine, setting standards for doctors that are robbing patients of adequate medication coverage for pain, sometimes causing these patients to resort to street drugs with the risk of death by unintentional overdose.  Having lost the War Against Drugs, has the DEA attacked a softer target, making a War on Doctors and their Pain Patients? Maybe so.

Richard “Red” Lawhern is a brilliant, passionate, hardworking nonmedical advocate for pain patients.   Listen to this show and you will never look at pain medications in same light.  Unlike psychiatric drugs, we both find that opiate and opioid pain medications are often under-prescribed.  The under-prescribing of opiates is partly because of the fear of addiction, and partly because drug companies push more expensive drugs that do not work as well and cause more harm.  Richard explains how the DEA has intruded into the practice of medicine, setting standards for doctors that are robbing patients of adequate medication coverage for pain, sometimes causing these patients to resort to street drugs with the risk of death by unintentional overdose.  Having lost the War Against Drugs, has the DEA attacked a softer target, making a War on Doctors and their Pain Patients? Maybe so.

My guest Dawn R. Nelson has a PsyD as well as a Masters in Divinity, and comes from a rich background of thoughtfully providing human services.  She conducts her private practice based on principles similar to my Guidelines for Empathic Therapy and will inspire other therapists to practice true to themselves and their ideals.   She exemplifies a growing consensus that therapists should be genuine and caring, as well as informed about the importance of childhood and nurturing in respect to who we are as adults.   She renews my faith in the future of psychotherapy.

My guest Dawn R. Nelson has a PsyD as well as a Masters in Divinity, and comes from a rich background of thoughtfully providing human services.  She conducts her private practice based on principles similar to my Guidelines for Empathic Therapy and will inspire other therapists to practice true to themselves and their ideals.   She exemplifies a growing consensus that therapists should be genuine and caring, as well as informed about the importance of childhood and nurturing in respect to who we are as adults.   She renews my faith in the future of psychotherapy.

Deborah Haas MS Ed has decades of experience in the addiction field and works for the Pennsylvania board that sets standards for addiction counselors. Deborah’s personal experience with addiction goes back to age 12 and she provides important insights into the complexities of trying to understand why people become addicted. She describes the harm done in treating people as if they are “broken” or suffering from “biochemical imbalances,” and the inherent contradiction in taking people off one set of drugs only to push them to take another set produced by the Pharmaceutical Empire.  She fights the erosion of good therapy by the legal drug dealers.  Deborah loved the four-part series of interviews that I did with Danish researcher Peter Gøtzsche, so this a reminder to search for those on www.breggin.com.   Meanwhile, you will enjoy getting to know Deborah Haas, who is a shining light in the field of addiction treatment.

Deborah Haas MS Ed has decades of experience in the addiction field and works for the Pennsylvania board that sets standards for addiction counselors. Deborah’s personal experience with addiction goes back to age 12 and she provides important insights into the complexities of trying to understand why people become addicted. She describes the harm done in treating people as if they are “broken” or suffering from “biochemical imbalances,” and the inherent contradiction in taking people off one set of drugs only to push them to take another set produced by the Pharmaceutical Empire.  She fights the erosion of good therapy by the legal drug dealers.  Deborah loved the four-part series of interviews that I did with Danish researcher Peter Gøtzsche, so this a reminder to search for those on www.breggin.com.   Meanwhile, you will enjoy getting to know Deborah Haas, who is a shining light in the field of addiction treatment.

Deborah Haas MS Ed has decades of experience in the addiction field and works for the Pennsylvania board that sets standards for addiction counselors. Deborah’s personal experience with addiction goes back to age 12 and she provides important insights into the complexities of trying to understand why people become addicted. She describes the harm done in treating people as if they are “broken” or suffering from “biochemical imbalances,” and the inherent contradiction in taking people off one set of drugs only to push them to take another set produced by the Pharmaceutical Empire.  She fights the erosion of good therapy by the legal drug dealers.  Deborah loved the four-part series of interviews that I did with Danish researcher Peter Gøtzsche, so this a reminder to search for those on www.breggin.com.   Meanwhile, you will enjoy getting to know Deborah Haas, who is a shining light in the field of addiction treatment.

Deborah Haas MS Ed has decades of experience in the addiction field and works for the Pennsylvania board that sets standards for addiction counselors. Deborah’s personal experience with addiction goes back to age 12 and she provides important insights into the complexities of trying to understand why people become addicted. She describes the harm done in treating people as if they are “broken” or suffering from “biochemical imbalances,” and the inherent contradiction in taking people off one set of drugs only to push them to take another set produced by the Pharmaceutical Empire.  She fights the erosion of good therapy by the legal drug dealers.  Deborah loved the four-part series of interviews that I did with Danish researcher Peter Gøtzsche, so this a reminder to search for those on www.breggin.com.   Meanwhile, you will enjoy getting to know Deborah Haas, who is a shining light in the field of addiction treatment.

David Mielke teaches psychology and sociology in a California high school, where he educates young men and women in the truth about psychiatry.  Many of these high school students are taking psychiatric medication, many are diagnosed with ADHD, and some have been told they are too disabled to do routine projects like taking notes from a board.  He gives vivid examples of the disabling effects of the diagnoses and how they push young people toward learned helplessness and self-doubt.   He describes how the principles of good teaching run smack into the bad teachings of modern psychology and psychiatry.   He explains how teachers can empower students to learn and to have more confidence in themselves. This was a very interesting hour for me and should be so for everyone interested in our nation’s youth and in education.   

David Mielke teaches psychology and sociology in a California high school, where he educates young men and women in the truth about psychiatry.  Many of these high school students are taking psychiatric medication, many are diagnosed with ADHD, and some have been told they are too disabled to do routine projects like taking notes from a board.  He gives vivid examples of the disabling effects of the diagnoses and how they push young people toward learned helplessness and self-doubt.   He describes how the principles of good teaching run smack into the bad teachings of modern psychology and psychiatry.   He explains how teachers can empower students to learn and to have more confidence in themselves. This was a very interesting hour for me and should be so for everyone interested in our nation’s youth and in education.   

After I give a 15 minute introduction about how the FDA may be doing more harm than good, Kim Witczak, consumer representative on the FDA Psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Committee, joins me to delve deeply into how the FDA too often betrays its mandate to serve and protect the public, and instead serves and protects the drug companies.  Specific topics include the recent unprecedented FDA   action of removing a lengthy Black Box warning from the smoking drug Chantix about its severe psychiatric adverse effects including suicide; and the FDA’s present consideration of drug company requests to allow them to market drugs to doctors for purposes that are not approved by the FDA.   We also talk about direct to consumer advertising.   Evermore, we cannot trust big government; evermore we cannot trust big business; and we cannot trust the legal system either.  This hour examines evil without finding an easy way to combat it.  On the bright side, it offers inspiration in Kim Witczak and her work as a self-made, highly dedicated and effective reformer!

After I give a 15 minute introduction about how the FDA may be doing more harm than good, Kim Witczak, consumer representative on the FDA Psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Committee, joins me to delve deeply into how the FDA too often betrays its mandate to serve and protect the public, and instead serves and protects the drug companies.  Specific topics include the recent unprecedented FDA   action of removing a lengthy Black Box warning from the smoking drug Chantix about its severe psychiatric adverse effects including suicide; and the FDA’s present consideration of drug company requests to allow them to market drugs to doctors for purposes that are not approved by the FDA.   We also talk about direct to consumer advertising.   Evermore, we cannot trust big government; evermore we cannot trust big business; and we cannot trust the legal system either.  This hour examines evil without finding an easy way to combat it.  On the bright side, it offers inspiration in Kim Witczak and her work as a self-made, highly dedicated and effective reformer!

My guest, Reality Therapist Robert Wubbolding EdD, and I address how to make choices for a better year ahead in 2017.    Bob offers practical steps to ensure your choices come out well and we both give examples of good choice making.  We also talk about what stops us from making rational choices, both the outside impediments and our internals emotional blocks.  It's about the freedom to choose.   This hour can help you to make and keep your New Year’s resolutions, and improve all your future decision-making.   Happy New Year to all my listeners!

My guest, Reality Therapist Robert Wubbolding EdD, and I address how to make choices for a better year ahead in 2017.    Bob offers practical steps to ensure your choices come out well and we both give examples of good choice making.  We also talk about what stops us from making rational choices, both the outside impediments and our internals emotional blocks.  It's about the freedom to choose.   This hour can help you to make and keep your New Year’s resolutions, and improve all your future decision-making.   Happy New Year to all my listeners!