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News & Events2024-06-08T03:21:10+00:00
2102, 2023

Meghan Daum Interviews Rob Wipond on The Unspeakable Podcast

By |February 21st, 2023|

Listen to “They’re Coming to Take You Away” on The Unspeakable: Click here.

About the Interviewer Meghan Daum:

Meghan Daum is the author of five books, including The Problem With Everything: My Journey Through The New Culture Wars, which The New York Times named a Notable Book of 2019. Her last book was the collection of original essays The Unspeakable: And Other Subjects of Discussion, which won the 2015 PEN Center USA Award for creative nonfiction. She is also the editor of the New York Times bestseller Selfish, Shallow & Self-Absorbed: Sixteen Writers on the Decision Not To Have Kids. Her other books include the essay collection My Misspent Youth, the novel The Quality of Life Report, and Life Would

1602, 2023

Short Vid 4: Dramatically Rising Rates of Forced Psychiatric Detentions

By |February 16th, 2023|

Contrary to common claims, the numbers of people being detained in psychiatric hospitals in the US and Canada have been rising dramatically for decades.

1602, 2023

Focus Magazine: “Your Consent is Not Required”—a disturbing new book by Rob Wipond

By |February 16th, 2023|

From Focus on Victoria:

The author’s research shows that an increasing number of people are losing their rights, their voices, their trust, and sometimes their lives through involuntary psychiatric treatment.

FOR SOCIETY TO OPERATE, we need trust. Whether it’s in traffic, banking, relationships, health care, or countless other areas of life, mutual understanding allows individuals and systems to intersect (relatively) smoothly and safely. That includes communication, as language is based on a shared agreement of what words mean. But what happens when people’s experiences or behaviours provoke differing interpretations? What happens when we lose consensus around life-directing terms like “appropriate,” “dangerous,” “effective,” or “normal”?

In his new book Your Consent is Not Required: The Rise in Psychiatric Detentions, Forced Treatment, and Abusive

1602, 2023

Short Vid 3: The Dangers of Calling 988 and other mental health help hotlines

By |February 16th, 2023|

Many callers who call 988 or other mental health help hotlines believe they’re anonymous, but get subjected to call traces, unwanted interventions, and police coming to forcibly take them to psychiatric hospitals. The numbers are much higher than is ordinarily publicly admitted by the managers of 988 and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

1602, 2023

Castanet: Author whose father was forcibly treated at Kelowna General Hospital warns of the dangers of involuntary care

By |February 16th, 2023|

From Castanet:

The author of a new book is speaking out against the push for more involuntary care in the rush to deal with the opioid crisis and the rising number of people living with homelessness in B.C.

Rob Wipond’s latest work is titled “Your Consent Is Not Required: The Rise in Psychiatric Detentions, Forced Treatment, and Abusive Guardianships.”

Wipond says his own father was detained against his will and forcibly treated at Kelowna General Hospital in the late 90s, and that was the genesis of the book.

Read the rest of the story and interview with Rob on Castanet.

1602, 2023

Short Vid 2: Psychiatric Bed “Shortage” or Incarceration Overload?

By |February 16th, 2023|

Do we really have a “shortage” of psychiatric hospital beds as is commonly claimed? Two internal US government studies, along with other data, show that the number of psychiatric beds is dramatically higher than is commonly recognized. So who’s behind the disinformation campaign, and with what intention?

802, 2023

Rob Wipond on “A Little More Conversation with Ben O’Hara-Byrne”

By |February 8th, 2023|

On Global’s Corus radio stations across Canada on January 30, 2023, Ben O’Hara-Byrne talked with Rob Wipond about Your Consent Is Not Required and current issues in the news about involuntary psychiatric treatment. The interview is 15 minutes — Click here to listen.

1901, 2023

Short Vid 1: How Psychiatric Fraud Drives Forced Hospitalizations

By |January 19th, 2023|

First in a series of short (3-4 minute) videos about some of the more startling, disturbing, and shocking things I learned while working on my book Your Consent Is Not Required: The Rise in Psychiatric Detentions, Forced Treatment, and Abusive Guardianships. In this video, I describe cases of mass-scale fraudulent involuntary psychiatric commitments, and recount a little of my interview with a representative from the US Department of Justice and Medicare Fraud Strike Force.

 

1012, 2022

Committable: “988”

By |December 10th, 2022|

In November, Jesse Mangan interviewed me for his podcast Committable. We discussed my research into the new 988 mental health hotline in the US and its practices of getting calls traced and callers forcibly hospitalized. A 988 number is now also scheduled to come to Canada. Click here to check out the episode.

 

 

2911, 2020

SAMHSA-National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Call-Tracing Documents and Data

By |November 29th, 2020|

Information obtained through freedom of information access about tracing of calls by US National Suicide Prevention Lifeline centers.

807, 2019

Hostpapa Review (or Hostpapa’s Scam, and what you should know about all “low-cost” web hosting providers)

By |July 8th, 2019|

A review of Hostpapa and explanation of a common scam that cheap web hosting companies engage in.

1801, 2018

The Launch of Inner Compass Initiative and The Withdrawal Project

By |January 18th, 2018|

I am proud to have helped develop these two websites, contributing researching, writing and editing for them. One of the most significant elements is the development of the most comprehensive, self-directed, layperson’s guide to safer psychiatric drug withdrawal ever produced. I include below further details from the organization’s executive director.
Rob

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I am writing with news that I’ve been eagerly anticipating sharing with you for quite some time. On behalf of my fellow co-founders and a growing number of volunteers, advisors, supporters, and contributors, I am incredibly excited to announce the launch of Inner Compass Initiative (ICI), a new 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and ICI’s first major effort, The Withdrawal Project (TWP).

Our mission is to provide information, resources, tools, and connecting platforms ?to facilitate

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