Robert Whitaker Back on Free Radio Sunday Updating His Historic Work "Mad in America"

Robert Whitaker, author of Mad in America, will be phoning in Sunday August 10 at 10 AM (PDT) for an hour interview on his forthcoming sequel and update. Whitaker will be following up his historic and controversial work documenting the dark side of psychiatric medication and its comparative effectiveness contrasted with "non-treatment". For some time, Whitaker had problems finding a publisher for findings that fundamentally challenge the psychiatric and pharmaceutical establishments.

Whitaker's recent research uncovers telling facts about psychiatric drugging:


EXCERPTS FROM THE WHITAKER WEBSITE:

The Scientific Evidence

A documented history of antipsychotic drugs and the long-term outcomes of schizophrenia.

A few historical highlights:

1. In the 1970s, the National Institute funded three trials that compared traditional drug-based care to experimental forms of care that involved selective, minimal use of antipsychotic drugs, and each time the experimental group had better long-term outcomes.

2. In a long-term study of patients discharged from Vermont State Hospital in the 1950s and 1960s, Courtenay Harding determined that thirty years later, one-third had completely recovered. And all of those ex-patients had stopped taking antipsychotic drugs.

3. When the World Health Organization compared outcomes for schizophrenia patients in rich countries to those in poor countries, it determined that outcomes were much, much better in the poor countries. In the poor countries, the WHO reported, only 16% of patients were regularly maintained on antipsychotic drugs.

4. In 2007, researchers at the University of Illinois reported that 15-years after initial diagnosis, 40% of the schizophrenia patients who had weaned themselves from antipsychotic medications were “in recovery,” versus five% of those who were on the drugs.

More at Whitaker's website: http://www.madinamerica.com/Mad%20In%20America/Home.html


LISTEN IN SUNDAY AND CALL IN!

The call-in number for those who want to ask questions in 831-427-3772.

The show will be broadcasting locally at 101.1 FM and streaming worldwide at http://www.freakradio.org .

It will be archived (a day later) at http://www.huffsantacruz.org under "Bathrobespierre's Broadsides"

Questions can also be left on my voice-mail at 831-423-4833 prior to the show.


PREVIOUS FREE RADIO INTERVIEWS WITH WHITAKER:

His last interview on Free Radio Santa Cruz is archived at http://www.radiolibre.org/brb/brb070527.mp3 [Download it and scroll past the first 1/3 of the show to find the full 2 1/2 hour interview and subsequent discussion]

Material around this last interview and some written material can be found at http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/05/22/18419687.php

A prior Whitaker interview from 2004 is at http://www.huffsantacruz.org/brb/brb090504.mp3 .

Two lengthy and interesting interviews with Whitaker from Street Spirit newspaper:
http://www.thestreetspirit.org/August2005/madinterview.htm