The Myth of the Chemical Cure: A Critique of Psychiatric Drug Treatment by Joanna Moncrieff - Exploring Mental Health Alternatives for Patients and Therapists (2007)" *Note: I removed the specific date (12-04) as it's not typically beneficial for SEO and added a broader use case description that helps with search relevance while maintaining the original meaning.*

This book to me was mind-blowing, like being delivered the red pill in The Matrix. This is a really important book. I recommend reading ALL Dr. Moncrieff's books as well as Robert Wipond's 'Your Consent Is Not Required.' I would also consider reading Jonathan Metzl's book, "The Protest Psychosis..."Dr. Moncrieff writes important history and context for the development and promulgation of chemical treatment for what are deemed psychiatric illnesses. She gives a logical and cogent refutation for current beliefs that psychiatric drugs have a disease-centered mechanism of action. Dr. Moncrieff's work is well-researched, well detailed, and well-explained.It exposes some of the dark underbelly of psychiatric treatment and offers lots of useful references, figures, and background information. For example, I did not know that all neuroleptics (termed anti-psychotics) are toxic to the heart! I also did not know that the man who invented lobotomy (the procedure where they literally remove a part of the brain to treat "psychiatric illness") was awarded a Nobel Prize."What people who are depressed or unhappy really need is help and support from other human beings. Being drugged is a barrier to developing the relationships and the activities that help people to recover."