Pioneering New Paradigms in Psychiatry
Thursday, May 28, 2026
Issue # 263
Hello there!
Firefall (Horsetail Fall) Yosemite
"Courage does not always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow." (Mary Anne Radmacher)
Today's podcast and article are about a topic that takes courage for me to acknowledge: failure. I wanted to write about failures in treatment (both conventional and holistic) more than 15 years ago. However, writing about successes in treatment was so much easier that I never came around to sharing my experiences with failures until now.
When I initially wrote the word "failure," I left out the "s," while the word "successes" had an "s" at the end. It's as if, at a subconscious level, I want you to believe that I only experienced one failure in my psychiatric career. While the word "successes" easily lands on the page as a plural of itself. How easy it is to share those miraculous patient outcomes!
I also noticed that I had avoided using the first person, "I" or "me." Instead, I had used "we" or left out the "me" when writing about failure. These subtle word choices show how much I struggle with the subject matter!
Failure is the fire that has tested and continues to test me. When I fail, it feels as if I am falling down the thundering length of the Firefall from Yosemite (see photo above), burning as I go.
"Will you climb the cliff again?" Failure asks me.
I have fallen down failure's Firefall repeatedly because I have kept climbing. That is how failure strengthened me for success. The hidden cost behind success has been my failures.
After working as a holistic psychiatrist for the past 24 years, I am confident enough in my skills to talk about this painful subject and how it has been an essential part of my growth as a pioneer in psychiatric medication withdrawal.
I hope you will enjoy the conversation between Emily and me
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Discussing Conventional and Holistic Treatment Failures
Pioneering New Paradigms in Psychiatry
Failure is something we rarely talk about openly in mental health treatment.
But what happens when medications don’t work the way people hoped?
What happens when holistic approaches don’t create immediate breakthroughs either?
And what can both patients and practitioners learn from those experiences?
In this episode, Emily and I have a deeply honest conversation about conventional and holistic treatment failures — and why these experiences, while painful, often become the beginning of deeper understanding and growth.
We discuss:
The real-world success rates of antidepressants and antipsychotics
Why medication withdrawal can become increasingly complex over time
The emotional toll of treatment resistance and failed approaches
How hope, persistence, and curiosity shape recovery outcomes
The difference between symptom reduction and true healing
And why listening deeply to patients matters more than ever
This conversation isn’t about attacking conventional psychiatry or promising easy answers.
It’s about honesty.
Learning.
And recognizing that healing is often far more nuanced than we’ve been taught.
Enjoy! And please come back for more articles and episodes of The Holistic Psychiatrist!
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