I’ve had misgivings about what is going on in the autism world for a while. Misgivings about the way that many clinicians are going along with narratives which are not based in science, and which seem to be largely based on the say-so of a few, very influential, activists. I’m concerned about the way that we have accepted that expanding autism to include more people is the right thing to do, and how little time we have given to asking what ‘neurodivergence’ really is - and whether it might not be such a good idea to refer to ‘neuro’ all the time when we know that people tend to understanding neurological explanations as ‘set in stone’. But the thing which makes me most concerned was how hard it is to talk about it. When pioneering researchers like @utafrith say that they think we need to rethink the autism spectrum, they are treated as if they are in the stocks. Rotten tomatoes, in the shape of internet insults, are hurled. It’s as if the crowd is shouting ‘shut up shut up shut up’. Except not as politely as that. Whenever I see something like that happening, it makes me more, rather than less, interested. I wonder what they are trying to hide. What is being covered up here? Why is it so important to stop some questions from being asked? For if we can’t disagree, then we can’t conduct science. There is no way to improve our knowledge if we can’t have balanced discussions about why something is happening. That’s why I wrote my latest book, which will be coming out in Feb 2027. It’s the inside story of how autism has expanded, and why that matters to us all. It's just too important to keep quiet about, even while the rotten tomatoes are hurled.

”Dr Read said: ‘NHS Tayside is using ECT more than anywhere else. But the board isn’t bothering to assess patients’ cognitive function before treatment. Which means that they have no baseline to refer to later, no way of monitoring whether patients have suffered any damage.” 🔗👇

Why I choose not to use my medical diagnosis as my identity. By Beverley Thomson madintheuk.com/2026/09/why-i… #MentalHealth #Diagnosis #Identity #Neurodiversity

GB News highlights my work on the misrepresentation of depression and antidepressants as described in the updated paperback version of Chemically Imbalanced out earlier this month. @flint_books gbnews.com/health/mental-hea…

Tomorrow evening (Wed 16th 6pm) in the #adisorder4everyone zoom room Have we mistaken disconnection for disorder? With philosopher #jordanreyne @lonelinessPod Recording included with every ticket, 1.5 hrs CPD Book here! eventbrite.co.uk/e/199205884…

A psychiatric horror story By Eric Daniel madintheuk.com/2026/09/a-psy… #MentalHealth #Psychiatry #MentalHealthAwareness

ADHD UK Cannot Hide the Flawed Science Behind the Diagnosis and Its Treatment By Yaakov Ophir madintheuk.com/2026/09/adhd-… #ADHD #Psychiatry #Medicalisation #MentalHealth

My letter to the editor, posted in @ObserverUK today. observer.co.uk/topics/letter…

Visit our website to catch up with any blogs you may have missed! madintheuk.com #MadInTheUK #VoicesForChange #MentalHealthdebate #mentalhealthdiscourse #MentalHealthReform #PsychiatricSurvivor #EndPsychAbuse #MentalHealthJustice

To basically anyone commenting on the Lindsay Clancy trial: Some of you haven’t witnessed a loved one in acute psych drug withdrawal, not sleeping for days on end, not eating, screaming that it felt like their skin was burning off, screaming that it felt like their brain was being zapped, sitting in front of a bathroom mirror staring wide-eyed without saying anything, hallucinating that they are a teenager again, seeing demons and shadowy figures in the room, being in and out of psychiatric hospitals, and attempting suicide, and it shows. Unless you’ve witnessed or experienced this, you really have no fucking clue.

ADHD UK Cannot Hide the Flawed Science Behind the Diagnosis and Its Treatment By Yaakov Ophir madintheuk.com/2026/09/adhd-… #ADHD #Psychiatry #Medicalisation #MentalHealth

Very relevant to the Lindsay Clancy trial.

Don’t miss this workshop about making sense of distress beyond diagnosis - with Dr Lucy Johnstone and @TheFlyingChild eventbrite.co.uk/e/198409087…

This article is written by James Barnes, MSc., MA, who co-authored a recent BMJ response on the topic with Joanna Moncrieff, Lucy Johnstone, and James Davies. Key points of this article: "-Brain scans only show group averages, not a neurological marker that identifies an individual with ADHD. -High heritability does not show that ADHD—or any individual’s difficulties—is largely caused by genes. -Recognition and support do not require making diagnosis the explanation for people’s struggles." #MentalHealth #ADHD buff.ly/LUhScJl

The paperback of Chemically Imbalanced was released yesterday amid continuing debate about the never-ending rise in antidepressant prescriptions. I argue that medicalising misery is not supported by science and ultimately does more harm than good.

You may be sick of this by now, but it's also important. I’ve written a Psychology Today piece that looks at the argument Moncrieff, Davies, Johnstone and I made in our recent BMJ response to the aftermath of the ADHD doc. "ADHD is real” is not a scientific conclusion. psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/…

Visit our website to catch up with any blogs you may have missed! madintheuk.com #MadInTheUK #VoicesForChange #MentalHealthdebate #mentalhealthdiscourse #MentalHealthReform #PsychiatricSurvivor #EndPsychAbuse #MentalHealthJustice

"Dr Lucy Johnstone, consultant clinical psychologist in Bristol, said: 'I have had a number of women clients who were prescribed ECT for distress related to rape or domestic abuse. This is not treatment. 'It is re-traumatisation, and it must stop.' Professor John Read, Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of East London, said: 'Our findings show that women not only receive ECT more often but are also more likely to suffer its most damaging effects. 'These patterns cannot be dismissed as coincidence. They reflect systemic biases in psychiatry and underline the urgent need for a trauma-informed, feminist perspective on mental health care.' He added: 'Information about sex differences in risk and outcome must be routinely given to women and their families. ECT should not be the default response to women’s suffering.'" buff.ly/riiMacd

Controversial treatment still used on 2,500 Brits a year as survivor says it 'felt like rape' dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-… @UELPsychLondon @PsychRecovery @MITUKteam @MindCharity @Mad_In_America @LisaTMSA

ADHD UK, the 'charity' that orchestrated 9,656 complaints against C4s 'The Great ADHD Myth' documentary, has an explicit commercial relationship with ADHD 360, a major private provider of ADHD assessment, diagnosis and treatment. adhdthefacts.com/post/the-mo…