Sami Timimi

Effect of globalisation on children's mental health

Globalisation is resulting in inappropriate domination of the Western view of mental health as well as of economic approaches. Western child psychiatrists have much to learn from child rearing practices in other countries

Rethinking childhood depression

Unhappiness among children seems to be rising, but labelling it as depression and prescribing antidepressants is ineffective and possibly harmful. It is time to focus on the underlying reasons

Head to Head: Should young people be given antidepressants? No

Depression is disabling a growing proportion of children, but evidence on treatment is disputed. Andrew Cotgrove believes drugs are a vital part of the armoury but Sami Timimi is unconvinced that they are helpful or safe

Autism is not a scientifically valid or clinically useful diagnosis.

Szatmari provides little evidence to support the validity of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) as a diagnosis.1 Two ex-services users, both diagnosed with an ASD, and I concluded in our recent book that ASD is not a valid diagnosis.2 The prevalence of ASD increased from 4.5 to 160 per 10 000 in just …

Over-prescribing methylphenidate won’t be cured by autism-style assessments

As McClure points out, inability to halt the upward trend of stimulant prescription was a predictable outcome of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guideline on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).1 However, the guideline’s problems go deeper than having an insufficient mechanism for differentiating moderate from severe ADHD. By their own criteria, the guideline development group found little to support …

“No more psychiatric labels” petition

Well done again, Des Spence.1 Many mental health professionals, including psychiatrists such as myself, are deeply worried about our profession’s direction. We have moved away from the unique aspect that we bring to healthcare—an understanding that meaning, relationships, and social context are all central to a deeper understanding of suffering (mental …

NICE recommendations are not evidence based and could expose many to unnecessary harm

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence’s (NICE’s) single most important recommendation is for medication to be used as a first line treatment in “severe” attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).1 Like other systematic reviews of ADHD medication treatment, NICE notes the inadequate reporting of study methodology, possible bias, limited reliability of results, and inadequate data regarding adverse events, correctly …

Parity of esteem for mental and physical health is a red herring.

Millard and Wessely acknowledge how hard it is to know what “parity of esteem” between mental health and physical health really means.1 However, they avoid direct engagement with evidence that the problem with mental health services is also to do with the services themselves. Their two main points of “tackling excess mortality and stigma” is a …

Time to concentrate on human factors in mental illness.

Drug companies losing interest in psychiatry is great news for psychiatry and mental health services but most of all for patients.1 Other research funding sources may also recognise that a focus on the brain is not a credible, evidence based choice likely to contribute to better care for those who …