These stories coincide with the American Psychiatric Association’s rollout of its latest revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). In light of National Institute of Mental Health director Thomas Insel’s move away from the DSM (“lack of validity… patients deserve better”) and DSM-5 task force chair David Kupfer’s admission of an absence of biological markers of mental illness (“we’re still waiting”), these stories starkly unveil the failure of, and harm done by, the prevailing model of mental health care. Many reflect on years lost to “illnesses” they came to realize did not have a medical basis, and discuss the myriad supports which enabled them to embrace their experiences, and integrate them into their lives.

These hopeful perspectives carry great significance in light of the controversies surrounding the newest edition of the DSM, as international public and professional communities openly question the biomedical standard of care. Lucy Johnstone, member of the Division of Clinical Psychology of the British Psychological Association says, “Traditionalists continue to claim that ‘We’re getting there – honestly!’ In the meantime, the overwhelming amount of evidence for psychosocial causal factors (of distress) is once again relegated to a back seat.” Even so, the NIMH’s Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) and President Obama’s BRAIN initiative have announced they will continue to look for solutions in biology – an approach that, despite decades of acknowledged failure, Insel proposes to be only “ten years away.”

Celia Brown, Board President MindFreedom International

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NEW SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN FEATURES STORIES OF INDIVIDUALS WHO REJECTED PSYCHIATRIC DIAGNOSES

For more about this wonderful project: http://openparadigmproject.com/