Links to my previous twitter threads, my twitter guidelines (including my personal block/discussion policies), and my publications will be below.

I'm on Twitter to:

• promote good science,
• speak against antipsychiatric noise/nonsense
• share expertise on suicide, pharmacology, and child and adolescent development
• advocate for improving social determinants of health and reducing systemic barriers

Thanks for your interest! For speaking engagements, systems consultation requests, recruiting, or academic engagements, please email me at dr.tylerblack@gmail.com.

MEDICAL STUDENTS AND RESIDENTS! If you're interested in doing a rotation with me in Vancouver at one of North America's only dedicated psychiatric emergency units for children and adolescents, email me!

TWITTER THREADS

Blocking / Discussion Policy

I am a strong believer in discussion, open debate, and have no issue whatsoever with disagreement or opposing views. I also believe in the principle of charity; I will generally try to consider the other person's best intention/meaning.

That being said, my experience on social media has taught me that certain interactions are not worth having, and certain people are just better off blocked. If you feel you were incorrectly blocked, feel free to email me. I don't owe any responses, but I will generally read all of my emails.

Certain twitter users may find themselves blocked or ignored. This is likely for the following reasons:

1. I've done a review of your profile and a number of your tweets, which has established: rigid advocacy for anti-psychiatry, anti-vaccination or other dangerous anti-scientific thinking (note the words "rigid" and "advocacy," and do not confuse them with "actual open-minded questions about" or "concerned about". I can tell the difference, in short order, between someone who will engage with me in an open-minded way vs. someone who is looking to pick a fight with science).
2. You have messaged me with significant disrespect (my call!).
3. You demonstrate significant racism, homo-/bi-/trans-phobia, misogyny, ableism, or other forms of discrimination that marginalize minority and/or vulnerable populations.
4. In any way, shape, or form, you encourage people to stop their medical treatments or provide specific medical advice that could harm them without expressing significant the due diligence of proper medical ethics.

LIVED EXPERIENCE / PATIENT INTERACTIONS

Hearing from, learning from, and supporting patients with lived experience is a major goal for me. However, due to medicolegal concerns, I cannot make specific recommendations about a specific medical issue, nor can I be your "internet therapist."

If you are/were a patient of mine, I cannot interact with you on twitter for medicolegal reasons. All of my patients/families can always contact me by email (though remember, email is insecure) or contact me through methods I've provided when I gave care to you or someone you cared for.

MY POSITION ON "#PRESCRIBEDHARM and #INFORMEDCONSENT"

A quick note to people who have lived experience or have experienced harm in psychiatric treatments: I care about you very much, and I care about many of the things you advocate for. For example, I believe every person considering a treatment should receive full informed consent (diagnosis, recommendations, alternatives, risks short term and long, how to start/stop safely, non-treatment options, the right to refuse treatment without judgment). As well, I fully concede that many psychiatric treatments have significant harms, in line with almost every efficacious medical treatment for anything. I believe that many doctors, in far-too brief assessments, don't discuss these these things regularly, which is why I strongly advocate for the need for more psychiatrists and better education about proper psychiatric care.

However, there are "prescribed harm" communities that have bled far from advocating for more patient protections straight into "medications are bad," "psychiatry is evil," "psychiatry is torture," "ECT kills people," type advocacy that I simply will block and ignore. I believe I understand why your experience may have led you to these conclusions, but my efforts to engage in helpful conversations with people who have crossed this line have never been satisfactory for either party. I will likely attempt to simply ignore comments from this fraction of the lived-experience/prescribed-harm community, but if I start getting chased, tagged, or otherwise, I will simply block. I wish twitter had other options for me, but it's the only one that works for me.

AND FINALLY, VERY IMPORTANT TO ME: