30 Nov Deconstructing the Mental Disorder Paradigm
A new audio book by friend and colleague Eric Maisel. Print versions coming soon!...
DSM-5
29 Aug Beyond the DSM
Posted at 14:48h
in Critical psychiatry, DSM-5, Psychology of Becoming, Psychotherapy, Speaking Engagements 2 Comments
“What we need is more facilities where people can walk in and say 'Hey, I'm feeling really down today. Can I just be here for a while and see what could be a contribution to me and make me feel better?' I think this is true for most people but...
21 Aug What Do 1984, Brave New World and the DSM-5 Have in Common?
Thanks to APA symposium (“Beyond the DSM: Current Trends in Devising New Diagnostic Alternatives”) discussant Sarah Kamens for bringing to our attention a chilling essay reviewing the DSM-5. Author Sam Kriss “reviews” the book as if it were a dystopian novel like 1984 and Brave New World. The essay appeared...
16 Aug The Seduction of Bad Ideas
I've been rereading my Psychology Today columns since I began writing them over two years ago. It's something I'm doing while I'm finishing up writing a chapter on psychology for my online book, The Overweight Brain: How our obsession with knowing keeps us from getting smart enough to make a better...
09 Jul The Diagnostic Debate
Posted at 16:03h
in Community Organizing, Critical psychiatry, DSM-5, Psychology of Becoming, Speaking Engagements 0 Comments
I haven’t attended the American Psychological Association convention in about ten years. But I couldn’t turn down an invitation to speak on a symposium on alternatives to diagnosis. And so, I’ll be traveling to Toronto in a few weeks for this year’s convention. The session, organized by SUNY New Paltz psychology...
03 Jun What’s the Point of Being Critical?
Posted at 18:57h
in Critical psychiatry, DSM-5, Postmodern Marxism, Psychology of Becoming, Publications, Social Therapy, What's New 2 Comments
I just got word that a new book to which I contributed is hot off the presses. It’s titled Critical Psychotherapy, Psychoanalysis and Counselling: Implications for Practice. Editor Del Loewenthal, Professor of Counselling and Psychotherapy at the University of Roehampton in the UK, has done an impressive job of bringing...
14 Jan “Lay” People and Emotional Distress
Posted at 14:00h
in Community Organizing, DSM-5, Psychology of Becoming, Psychotherapy, Social Therapy 0 Comments
For the past several years, the East Side Institute for Group and Short Term Psychotherapy (Institute) and the Social Therapy Group have held forums and conducted surveys on the streets of New York City on mental health topics. We’ve been working on analyzing the data from nearly 300 surveys conducted...
01 Dec Playing with Hard Stuff…more on Japan
For some more on my trip to Japan, please read my Psychology Today column, "The Grand Prix of Hallucinations" In this community, people don't try to silence the voices they hear or keep them to themselves. They socialize them, study them, play with them, and gain the courage to live joyously. ...
17 Sep People Speak Out About Diagnosis
I posted a Psychology Today A Conceptual Revolution column yesterday, “Do You Need a Diagnosis to Get Some Help?” There I shared an overview of what happened when a team of volunteers from the East Side Institute and Social Therapy Group conducted a survey on diagnosis at Harlem Week, a...
28 Aug A Diagnostic Alternative You Might Not Have Thought Possible
Posted at 15:44h
in Applied Theatre, Clowning, Community Organizing, Creativity, Culture, DSM-5, Education, Events, Human Development, Outside of School, Performance Movement, Play, Psychology of Becoming, Psychotherapy, Theatre, What's New 0 Comments
Three weeks ago I was in Washington, DC for the First Summit on Diagnostic Alternatives. It marked what I think is an important turning point for what has been a loud outcry against the DSM-5. The Summit was sponsored by the Society for Humanistic Psychology, which has been a...