Psychiatry at the Margins

George Ikkos — a psychiatrist in the UK and a good friend (see his Mixed Bag post on the social in psychiatry) — brought up an interesting question in personal correspondence that deserves addressing in some detail in this newsletter. Researchers in psychiatry and psychology are now accustomed to pointing out that scientific studies on etiological mechanisms or statistical factor analyses do not support the validity of DSM and ICD diagnoses. Ikkos mentioned two recent illustrative examples.

This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please turn on JavaScript or unblock scripts

Dinah Miller, MD, is a psychiatrist and author of “Committed: The Battle Over Involuntary Psychiatric Care” (co-authored with Annette Hanson, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2016). She has a private practice in Baltimore, Maryland, is faculty at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and also writes for Clinical Psychiatry News and Medscape. Her career has been a wonderful mix of patient care, writing, education, and advocacy. Aftab: I really enjoyed reading Committed.

This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please turn on JavaScript or unblock scripts

In the movie Fingernails (2023), scientists have developed a test that can determine whether a couple is truly in love. As a metaphorical commentary on the finger swiping involved in contemporary dating, the test involves pulling out a fingernail and putting it in a silly microwave-like device that informs whether one or both individuals are in love.

This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please turn on JavaScript or unblock scripts

Peter D. Kramer, MD, is a psychiatrist and the author of eight books, including the influential 1993 book Listening to Prozac (now available in a new 30th anniversary edition) and, most recently, the novel Death of the Great Man. His essays, op-eds, and book reviews have appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and elsewhere.

This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please turn on JavaScript or unblock scripts

Psychiatry at the Margins is one year old! The first post on this blog/newsletter was published on Nov 19, 2022. Since then, the readership and impact of the newsletter have grown substantially. I have been pleasantly surprised by the reception. Some basic stats: Psychiatry at the Margins has more than 4,000 total subscribers. It is read in 50 US states and 96 countries. 114 posts have been published, which have generated a total of 356,406 views. Close to 3% of the subscribers are paid subscribers.

This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please turn on JavaScript or unblock scripts