What We Do Not Do

A woman with long hair sitting cross-legged near the ocean, looking at the sunset

  • Take industry money

We do not accept donations from pharmaceutical companies and producers of medical devices. Our goal is to be a genuine grass-root movement that gives voice to authentic personal experiences. We believe that receiving support from for-profit companies doing business in mental health care creates conflict of interest and turns mental health non-profits into astroturf organizations. This is why your donation is so vital, and no donation is too small.

  • Argue about words

    We do not participate in terminological controversies (debates over the best words to use).

  • Give medical advice ‍ ‍

    All information found on this website is for general educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. To discuss individual cases and specific treatments, talk with a trusted licensed mental health provider (our directory may help you to find one).

  • “Pill shaming”

    We neither encourage, nor discourage anyone to take, discontinue, or switch prescribed medications. Click here for more information on our position about psychotropic medications.

  • Promote unscientific treatments

    We do not promote treatments that are not supported by scientific evidence (such treatments may be mentioned in personal stories).

  • Promote spiritual interpretations of experiences commonly described as “psychosis”

    We do not promote interpretation of voices, visions, and other unusual experiences in spiritual terms, as a connection with the divine (such interpretations may be found in personal stories). For spiritual interpretation of such experiences, see, for example, The Center for Spiritual Emergence and the memoir My Beautiful Psychosis. For the perspective of those interpreting unusual experiences and behaviors, such as “performing excessive religious rituals,” as symptoms of mental illness, see, for example, “Religious Delusions” in Medical News Today. For a clinician’s take on this subject, see Ron Unger, Working Effectively with the Intersection of Psychosis and Spirituality.‍ ‍

  • Promote coercion

    We do not give advice on how to make somebody adhere to a treatment they do not want, or how to commit somebody to a hospital or Assisted Outpatient Treatment against their will. For the perspective of those who oppose involuntary treatment – the position shared by the FAMHR – see, for example, the United Nations Human Rights Council and the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law (which makes an exception for “rare circumstances”). For the perspective of those who advocate for involuntary treatment, see, for example, NAMI (generally supports coercive mental health practices, with some reservations) and especially the Treatment Advocacy Center (TAC), the leading promoter of forced treatment in the US.

  • Have religious or political affiliation

    We do not have an affiliation with any religious or political group. If you want to discuss politics, religion, the healthcare system other than mental health services, or anything else not related to the Family Alliance mission, please use other forums.