This is the third issue since the relaunch last March. The first two issues focussed on particular topics – paranoia and medication, respectively. These were packed with information and were well-received by those who saw them. And if you didn’t see them, order them now! In contrast, this issue touches a variety of bases.

We lead with an article given by the venerable Dr Thomas Szasz, who might be well-known to our older readers as the original anti-psychiatrist. His book, The Myth of Mental Illness, was a sensation when it was published almost fifty years ago.

Since the basic assumptions of the psychiatric and mental health project have changed very little during the intervening years, what he has to say is just as pertinent now as it was then.

Can I remind readers that we also welcome contributions – we need fresh ones so as to keep going! But even more vital at the moment is the need for people to subscribe, and better still to help distribute the magazine by buying in bulk (at reduced rates) and expending just a little energy, four times a year, promoting the magazine amongst friends and colleagues or by visiting likely local outlets (e.g., MH organisations, nurse training libraries, trade union reps, etc.).

Asylum magazine will not survive unless we make it known that it is out there – and boost sales! We are not asking for very much: bulk buying starts at £25 for 10 copies. So apart from enlarging your social life and spreading the word you could even make money!

Download Volume 17 No 3

Contents

• The Role of Psychiatry in the Therapeutic State. Thomas Szasz
• Voices are Emotions. Marius Romme
• Psychiatric Diagnosis and Value-based practice in mental health nursing. A nurse
• Soldiers in Double Jeopardy. Fred A Baughman
• Side effects and Pharmacogenetics: Policy makers keep dodging the issue. Catherine Clarke.
• A Psychiatric Salad: Salmagundi. Nigelloh
• Obituaries: The story of Joan Hughes (1928-2008) and Judy Chamberlin (1944-2010) Psychiatric Survivor Activist
• The Avenging Angel of the North. George Fowler
• The Use of Electroshock Today. Cheryl Prax
• Modernising the Farm. Jessica Hogsbristle
• The Value of Making Art: the work and development of Studio Upstairs. Douglas Gill