This is a recording of the livestream from November 10, 2022 of a lecture with Robert Whitaker titled Rethinking Psychiatry: How the Failure to Identify the Biological Causes of Major Mental Disorders Opens Up New Possibilities for Longterm Recovery.

Despite decades of research, the biology of major psychiatric disorders remains unknown. There are no findings that people so diagnosed necessarily suffer from a persistent biological abnormality. The understanding today is that the causes of psychiatric symptoms—psychosis, mania, depression and so forth—are varied, with life events, such as trauma, being common risk factors.

In the absence of regular drug treatment, many people so diagnosed suffer an “episode” of the “illness,” which remits over time. This understanding opens up new avenues for promoting robust recovery: what therapies can help maximize the possibility that a person will suffer an “episode” of illness, rather than suffer from a “chronic” condition?

Robert Whitaker is the publisher of Mad in America, and author of five books, three of which tell of the history of psychiatry. In 2010, his Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs, and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness won the U.S. Investigative Reporters and Editors book award for best investigative journalism.

AMIQuebec is a grassroots organization that helps families manage the effects of mental illness through support, education, guidance, and advocacy.

Established in Montreal, Canada in 1977, we offer a wide range of services including workshops, support groups, counselling, outreach, resources, and more. All our services are free!

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