Peter Breggin

Who is Peter Breggin?

Peter Roger Breggin is an American psychiatrist and critic of biological psychiatry and psychiatric medication. In his books, he advocates replacing psychiatry's use of drugs and electroconvulsive therapy with psychotherapy, education, and broader human services.

Breggin is the author of many books critical of modern psychiatry, including Toxic Psychiatry, Talking Back to Prozac and Talking Back to Ritalin. His most recent book, Brain-Disabling Treatments in Psychiatry, discusses his theory of medication spellbinding, the adverse effects of drugs and electroconvulsive therapy, the hazards of diagnosing and medicating children, Breggin's theory of a "psychopharmaceutical complex", and guidelines for psychotherapy and counseling.

Breggin now lives in the Finger Lakes Region of Central New York and practices psychiatry in Ithaca, New York.