ABSTRACT

This text critically examines the shortcomings of psychiatry; the flawed development of the diagnostic system, including the DSM-5; and the failure to advance the effectiveness of antipsychotics and antidepressants.

Starting with an overview of the evolution of psychiatry, Dean explores the creation, use, and misuse of medications, a process largely driven by drug companies. Other chapters describe the benefits and risks of medications, the problems associated with rational prescribing, and the embrace of so-called novel therapies including hallucinogenic drugs and opioids. Chapters end with a set of clinical notes that provide specific recommendations to clinicians, families, patients, and other providers, emphasizing the risks and benefits of treatment with medications but also stressing alternative approaches.

This book will challenge clinicians to think critically about the DSM-5 and the current systems of diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses in the hopes of ultimately improving the lives of people with mental illnesses.

chapter |6 pages

Introduction

chapter 1|8 pages

The Biological Revolution in Psychiatry

An Overview of the Dark Ages

chapter 2|29 pages

The Biological Revolution

The Middle Years and the Rise of Psychopharmacology

chapter 6|22 pages

Psychotropic and Antipsychotic Polypharmacy

Common Practice, Good Medicine?

chapter 7|19 pages

The Neurologic Consequences of Antipsychotics

From Parkinsonism to Tardive Dyskinesia

chapter 8|12 pages

Antidepressants and Depression

Background and Biology

chapter 9|25 pages

Antidepressants

Do They Work? If So, When, How Often, and at What Costs?

chapter 10|19 pages

Antidepressants and Adverse Events

Falls and Fractures, Vascular Events, Risks in Pregnancy, and Abnormal Movements

chapter 11|31 pages

Treatment-Resistant Depression

Combining and Switching Antidepressants, Adding Antipsychotics, and on to Neurotherapeutics

chapter 12|24 pages

Desperately Treating Depression

On Psychotogenic and Hallucinogenic Drugs, Anti-Inflammatories, Antidiabetics, Hyperthermia, and Opioids

chapter 13|24 pages

Psychiatric Diagnoses

The DSM and the Roots of Failure

chapter 14|32 pages

Fear and Loathing at the APA

The DSM-5, the Brain Mapping Quartet, and the Future of Mental Illness