Radically Genuine with Dr. Roger McFillin
A clear warning that psychiatry and pharma continue to ignore
In this powerful video, clinical psychologist Dr. Roger McFillin dismantles the claim that SSRI antidepressants are safe or effective for children and adolescents. Drawing on the published evidence, he shows what the public and most prescribing doctors are never told: the pediatric antidepressant story is one of “confusion, manipulation, and institutional failure,” exactly as the Lancet editors declared in 2004.
Most trials were industry-sponsored, riddled with methodological flaws, ghost-written, and selectively reported. Unfavourable results were buried. To manufacture statistical significance, placebo groups were often withdrawn from existing psychiatric drugs, creating withdrawal effects that made the antidepressants appear better. Even after cherry-picking the data, the 2016 review of 34 trials involving 5,260 young people rated the quality of evidence as “very low.” There is simply no acceptable scientific support for the idea that these drugs have a genuine antidepressant effect in youth.
What the drugs do deliver is clear harm. The risk of suicidality and aggression is at least doubled. The FDA’s black-box warning — its strongest alert short of a ban — was issued in 2004 for children and extended in 2006 to age 24. Yet the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines still reassure doctors that antidepressants are supported by evidence and downplay the black-box warning. Dr. McFillin rightly calls this criminal negligence. The AAP’s financial ties to pharmaceutical companies make the conflict obvious.
Per Lanterna perspective
This is the standard pattern in biological psychiatry: no proven cause, no cure, only symptom-masking drugs pushed for profit while real harms are minimised or concealed. Children and adolescents — whose brains are still developing — are being exposed to drugs that can worsen depression, trigger aggression, and increase suicide risk, all on the basis of manipulated data and conflicted guidelines.
Parents and practitioners deserve the full truth. Informed consent is not optional. Watch and share Dr. McFillin’s presentation. The lives of young people may depend on it. Psychiatry’s inability to police itself, combined with commercial interests, continues to put the most vulnerable at risk. More lanterns are urgently needed.
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The information presented in this video is for educational purposes only and should not be considered as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. It is essential to consult with a qualified healthcare provider before making any decisions about your antidepressant medication. Abruptly stopping or altering the dosage of antidepressant medication without medical supervision can pose serious health risks and may lead to withdrawal symptoms, worsening of depressive symptoms, or other adverse effects. Discontinuing medication should always be done under the guidance and supervision of a healthcare professional.
3. Psychiatry’s lack of science masked by pharmaceuticals
