Over a decade ago, I noticed a new term cropping up in psychiatry: anosognosia. Actually, it was an old term, coined a century earlier by neurologists to describe a behavioral sign in certain types of brain damage. But by the time I took notice, this mouthful of a word was doing double duty. In […]
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When one of America’s most prominent psychiatrists expresses deep disdain for depth psychotherapy, especially when that criticism is misinformed and hopelessly outdated, it should concern all of us. Dr. Tom Insel directed the National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH) from 2002 to 2015. Formerly a psychiatric researcher “at the cellular level,” he studied medications […] Dopamine Taking a break from technology is a fine idea, but we don’t need a pseudoscientific new name for it: dopamine fasting. Launched with viral Silicon Valley memes, online reports, and articles in the New York Times and elsewhere, dopamine fasting is now a thing. Basically, the idea is to temporarily deprive oneself of […] Neuromodulation is a hotly studied field. Research groups worldwide are exploring genetic and epigenetic modulators, inflammatory processes, optogenetics, dietary effects, and other modalities. Although neuromodulation can influence many non-psychiatric conditions, one tantalizing hope is that by modifying critical brain physiology and the connectome we may someday attack the root causes of mental illness, a […] It has become a sign of legitimacy to call a personal problem “medical.” This aims to distinguish the problem from those of morality or character. It implies both that the problem is serious, and that it is unbidden and largely out of the suffer’s control. Unfortunately, it isn’t clear what exactly qualifies as “medical,” so […] I don’t avoid reading opinions strongly critical of psychiatry. They help sharpen my reasoning skills. It’s always possible they might alter my views in some way. And like most everyone, I consider myself openminded and receptive to criticism. However, after years of reading Thomas Szasz, Robert Whitaker, and the screeds of the less articulate, after […] Some maladies that attract psychiatric attention are unequivocally brain diseases. Huntington’s disease. Brain tumors. Lead poisoning. However, these are not psychiatric diseases. Huntington’s is a genetic abnormality diagnosed and treated by neurologists. Brain tumors are managed by neurosurgeons and oncologists. Lead toxicity is treated by internal medicine. Indeed, a long list of medical and surgical […] |
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