Episode 74: Robert Whitaker: the drug-based paradigm of psychiatric care in the U.S.
Summary: Today’s guest is a science journalist and author who has written extensively about the pharmaceutical industry. Robert Whitaker is also the founder of Mad in America, a nonprofit organization that focuses on getting people to rethink psychiatric care in the United States.<br> <br> As you will learn in today’s episode, one in six Americans takes a psychiatric drug. More than 130,000 children under the age of five are taking addictive anti-anxiety drugs prescribed by doctors.<br> <br> Whitaker has spent most of his career focused on changing the current drug-based paradigm of psychiatric care in the U.S. He has written three booksabout the pharmaceutical industry and the psychiatric profession. He has looked at how drugs used for depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia are causing a spike in America’s disability numbers. He also has investigated the history of medications prescribed for these disorders, how they are marketed, and why they’ve grown in popularity.<br> <br> Discover magazine named Whitaker’s first book, “Mad in America,”one of the best science books of 2002. His second book, “Anatomy of an Epidemic,”won the 2010 Investigative Reporters and Editors book award for best investigative journalism. His third book, “Psychiatry Under the Influence,”is a textbook used in university classrooms around the country.<br> <br> In today’s interview, we discuss:<br> <br> [00:11:08] When Robert first became disillusioned with the pharmaceutical industry<br> [00:16:53] How Robert’s investigation into schizophrenia in the U.S. led him to write his first book, “Mad In America.”<br> [00:26:58] Why the U.S. has seen such a sharp increase in the number of disabled, mentally ill people since the advent of psychotropic medications.<br> [00:45:10] How many drugs may have efficacy in clinical trials over the short term, but overwhelming evidence shows over the long term many medications actually increase a person’s risk of becoming chronically ill and functionally impaired.<br> [01:00:43] Robert’s investigation into the FDA’s review of studies that looked at Prozac<br> [01:03:38] Antidepressants and their side effects.<br> [01:08:40] How concerns over ADHD have led to an alarming percentage of children, especially boys, being drugged for exhibiting what once considered normal or at least acceptable behavior.<br> And much more.<br>
