Book excerpt: -- Are patients aware of the fact that pharmacological therapies stress the brain in ways which may prevent or postpone symptomatic and functional recovery ? ==================================================== Rethinking Psychiatric Drugs: A Guide for Informed Consent is a critical appraisal of the medications which an estimated 20% of Americans consume on a regular (and sometimes involuntary) basis. It is the philosophically, epidemiologically, and scientifically supported revelation of how and why psychiatry’s drug therapies have contributed to a standard of care which frequently does more to harm than to cure. Extensively researched and documented, the book addresses: -- the process by which psychiatric drugs reach the market -- the history and philosophy of Evidence Based Medicine -- the common flaws in research methodologies which negate the validity of the psychiatric RCT (Randomized Controlled Trial) -- the problem of allostatic load (how drugs stress the body) -- the history, long term effects, and utility of the drugs used to suppress symptoms of depression, psychosis, inattention and hyperactivity -- the effectiveness of alternatives to medication Rethinking Psychiatric Drugs: A Guide for Informed Consent exposes the current crisis in medical ethics and epistemology, and attempts to restore to psychiatry an authentically informed consent to care.