Robert Whitaker, Pulitzer finalist and author of Anatomy of An Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs, and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America

Powell’s City of Books, downtown – 1005 W Burnside Portland, Oregon
Thursday, August 19 7:30 PM
A Special Benefit Lecture Sponsored by Portland Hearing Voices

Join Portland Hearing Voices at this special benefit lecture at Powell’s featuring Robert Whitaker, Pulitzer finalist journalist and author of Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs, and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America.

How beneficial are psychiatric medications for depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and psychosis in the long term? What does the record of research actually show about drug effectiveness? Do medications reduce the rate of mental illness — or fuel its dramatic rise? Are the adverse effects of medications often worse than the benefits? What can be done to change the current pharmaceutical driven regime of mental health care?

Pulitzer finalist and George Polk Award winning journalist Robert Whitaker’s new book Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs, and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America recognizes the usefulness of medications for some people but reveals a consistent and disturbing pattern from half a century of medication effectiveness research: over the long term psychiatric drugs create far more serious problems than they first address.

Join Portland Hearing Voices in this benefit lecture at Powell’s as we take an honest look at what works and what does not work in medication policy and shine light on the disturbing human cost of a failed mental health system. Whitaker will be available to sign books at the event.

More info about Anatomy of An Epidemic at Robert Whitaker’s website: www.madinamerica.com/.

About Portland Hearing Voices: Founded by schizophrenia survivor Will Hall, Portland Hearing Voices organizes support groups, educational events, holistic alternatives, training, and counseling resources for people who experience voices, extreme states, visions, and different realities often labeled as psychosis, bipolar, and schizophrenia. (Fiscally sponsored by Mental Health Association of Portland.) Learn more about Portland Hearing Voices and www.portlandhearingvoices.net.