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Events, Interviews, Presentations, Blog

News & Events2024-06-08T03:21:10+00:00
2508, 2024

Discussing Unwanted Health Care with Rob on the Medicare For All Podcast

By |August 25th, 2024|

Jesse Mangan, host of the Committable podcast, joins me with the Medicare For All podcast team. “Usually on the Medicare for All Podcast, we talk about people who want healthcare but can’t get it, but today we’re talking about people getting healthcare they have specifically refused: folks who have been involuntarily committed. For plenty of our listeners, the idea of being held against your will at a psychiatric institution feels like a nightmare from another time – something out of gothic fiction or horror movies set far in the past… In fact… a 2020 UCLA study found that in the 25 states where they actually keep data on this, the numbers of involuntary psych detentions have been sharply rising

1508, 2024

The Radically Genuine Podcast Hosts Rob to Discuss 988

By |August 15th, 2024|

Dr. Roger McFillin hosts Rob for a second time on his Radically Genuine Podcast to discuss the dramatically rising rates of unwanted call tracing and policing interventions on 988 callers. “We cannot consent unless we are informed. In this episode I welcome back Rob Wipond, a freelance journalist known for his work on psychiatry, civil rights, and privacy, and we explore the troubling reality behind the 9-8-8 suicide and crisis lifeline, launched in July 2022. While intended as a compassionate step forward, this lifeline has led to privacy violations and forced psychiatric detentions, raising concerns about the mental health system’s impact on vulnerable individuals. We discuss how psychiatric hospitalizations can often be traumatic and may even increase suicidal

408, 2024

More Discussions about 988 Hosted by Wildflower Alliance

By |August 4th, 2024|

During and after the first discussion about 988 hosted by Wildflower Alliance in January of 2024, I, Jess Stohlman-Rainey, Emily Wu Truong, and Sera Davidow received many questions we did not have time to answer. So, six months later, we did a follow-up discussion, including newly obtained data and insights about how frequent call tracing and policing interventions are, and how the system itself is managed. See the second part of our discussion here.

 

1507, 2024

Rob Discusses Misleading Mental Health Law Education in British Columbia, and 988 in Canada

By |July 15th, 2024|

On Rethreading Madness, radio host Bernadine Fox and I discuss an educational brochure being handed out to people in British Columbia educating them about the BC Mental Health Act — where a lot of the information in the brochure is wrong, and sometimes dangerously so. Listen here. And on an earlier date, we discussed some of the problems with the new 988 line, with specific reference to the Canadian context — listen here.

 

407, 2024

Lost Debate’s Ravi Gupta Interviews Rob

By |July 4th, 2024|

“Lost Debate is a weekly podcast from The Branch that brings you news, ideas, and arguments from around the political spectrum. We engage in the good-faith discussions that too much of our society and media miss. It’s hosted by Ravi Gupta, a former Obama staffer turned school principal.”

Ravi and Rob “explore the realities of abuse and exploitation within the psychiatric system, the growing movement to expand involuntary commitment powers, which often target homeless individuals, and whether mental health and psychiatric laws infringe on due process rights.” Listen here.

 

806, 2024

Beyond the Stereotypes: Homelessness, Community Coercion, and Extreme Cases

By |June 8th, 2024|

From the ISPS description: “The International Society for Psychological and Social Approaches to Psychosis brings together investigative journalist Rob Wipond, author of “Your Consent is Not Required,” Philip Yanos, PhD, professor, researcher, ACT team clinician, and author of “Written Off: Mental Health Stigma and the Loss of Human Potential,” along with Patrick Mureithi, a father, musician, and documentary filmmaker who will discuss his personal journey through self-medication, psychiatric abuse, and homelessness, and eventual recovery through spirituality, focus on physical health, and community support. In an era marked by increasing uses of coercive mental health laws, particularly concerning homelessness, our speakers will explore the alarming trends, challenges, and potential solutions from their unique vantage points. This

806, 2024

Lori Ashcroft Interviews Rob for Viva La Evolution

By |June 8th, 2024|

Lori Ashcroft of Recovery Resilience Solutions hosts a podcast called Viva La Evolution that’s “not just a place to receive information, but a place where together we can make authentic connections and feel safe enough to talk about the real things that help and hinder our mutual goals of creating opportunities for people to recover. We want to talk about the approaches that really work and bring us and those we serve hope, joy, resilience, and recovery. And we also want to examine the hard things that we are often hesitant to discuss. In other words, let’s get real about what IS working and what ISN’T working. Let’s learn to

806, 2024

Rob with The Explorer Poet, Josh Mortensen

By |June 8th, 2024|

In his Explorer Poet podcast, Josh Mortensen and I discuss a wide range of topics related to my book, including as he describes it on his website “theater, poetry, acting, Canada, the United States, journalism, involuntary commitments, Carl Jung, Stanislav Grof, Robert Whitaker, psychology, North America, money, fraud, forced psychiatric intervention, difficult times, electric shock therapy, psychiatric drugs, depression, mortality, stories, transference, projection, frame of references, pathology, numbing out, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, authority, authoritarianism, politics, polarization, resistance, forced injections, fear mongering, educational systems, schools, institutions, mental health laws, policing, control, nursing homes, long-term care, economic equity, wages, housing costs, the World Health Organization, acknowledging there is a problem, mutual aid, and human connection.”

Check out the

806, 2024

Intuitive Public Radio Hosts Rob

By |June 8th, 2024|

Mack Morris was one of the first people to educate me about the challenges faced by people with multiple disabilities and sensitivities, especially in relation to mental health care systems from which they alternately seek assistance or get threatened. Now, she interviews me for Intuitive Public Radio. Listen or watch here.

From the Intuitive Public Radio page:  “There is deep pain in the world, especially for those who are most vulnerable and without resource access. When flawed systems fail us during critical moments, it affects not only our own lives but the lives and livelihoods of family and community members all around us…. Rob’s work and this conversation help anchor pro-active compassion — to expand access and choice while

604, 2024

Upcoming Talks in New Jersey, Connecticut & Massachusetts

By |April 6th, 2024|

I’ll be speaking in New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts in April. Come join us!
(Download this list of events as a PDF.)

Rob Wipond in Conversation in NJ, CT and MA

Thursday, April 11
Ocean Place Resort & Spa, Long Branch, NJ
Coalition of Mental Health Consumer Organizations
Click here for Conference Info

Monday, April 15
Connecticut Legal Rights Project (Private)

Tuesday, April 16
9am to 11am @
the Holyoke Public Library,
250 Chestnut St, Holyoke, MA

Tuesday, April 16, 12:30pm to 2pm
Community conversation @
Wildflower Alliance’s Bowen Center
235 Chestnut Street, Springfield, MA.

Tuesday, April 16
5:30pm to 7:30pm @
Franklin County Co-Op
Community Room,
170 Main St, Greenfield, MA

Wednesday, April 17
10am to 1pm @
Toivo
1477 Park St. Hartford, CT

Thursday, April 18
2pm to 4pm @
Advocates,
1881 Worcester Rd, Framingham,

1903, 2024

Hunter Keegan Talks to Rob on the Bipolar Recorder Podcast

By |March 19th, 2024|

Hunter Keegan is an artist, musician, podcaster, author, and activist, and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2015 shortly after graduating from Penn State University with his bachelor’s degree in Psychology. Hunter and I had a lively and probing conversation on his Bipolar Recorder podcast! Listen to it here.

 

1003, 2024

Rob on Depth Work with Jazmine Russell

By |March 10th, 2024|

Jazmine Russell interviewed me for her Depth Work podcast: “DEPTH Work is a podcast for those who love to dive into transformative healing practices. We talk about mental health, madness, trauma, mind-body practices, energy work, ancestry, spirituality, societal change, somatics, and more. As a complex trauma survivor, holistic counselor, and co-founder of a transformative mental health training institute (IDHA-NYC.org), I believe that our deepest pain is guiding us towards our greatest transformation. Let’s dive in!”

Click here to listen, or listen on Spotify or on Apple podcasts.
1003, 2024

Jeff Brown Interviews Rob on The Enrealment Hour

By |March 10th, 2024|

Jeff Brown interviewed me for his podcast The Enrealment Hour: “Join author and sacred activist Jeff Brown, as he cuts through the denials, deceptions, and distractions that prevent us from living our truest lives. Let’s talk about dismantling the oppressive structures of today, and co-creating a world that honors our inherent magnificence. It’s time. Welcome to the Enrealment Hour.”

Jeff is a strong critic of the pharmaceutical industry, and also a popular advocate for holistic approaches to health and well-being, and these perspectives informed our discussion.

Click here to listen, or here on Spotify,or here on Apple podcasts.

1003, 2024

Rob on Changing Crisis Care Podcast

By |March 10th, 2024|

Jessica (Watson Miller) Ocean interviewed me for Changing Crisis Care: The Psych Crisis Podcast. Jessica lost her brother after he had a brutal experience with involuntary psychiatric interventions.

psychcrisis.org is working to change the system that responds when someone has a mental health crisis so it actually helps. On this podcast, we interview people with deep knowledge about some part of the system to ask ‘what needs to change?’ and ‘what is in the way?'”

Click here to listen.

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