Resistances to Critical Thinking About Brain Shrinking 1955–2015

Why do we in the United States rely increasingly on psychiatric medications despite increasing evidence that they do more harm than help? The author offers historical perspective by noting events and his experiences in our mental health system from the 1950s to the present, with some clinical and judicial reform efforts, including the right to refuse treatment cases. Then, focusing on advertising and public relations leads to seeing a parallel between the commercial success of the tobacco industry and that of the psychiatric drug industry, using the power of propaganda in crucial marketing strategies for supporting the dominance of pharmaceutical treatments relative to psychosocial approaches.