My book “Conversations in Critical Psychiatry” (Oxford University Press, 2024) brings together an edited selection of interviews published in the Psychiatric Times (@PsychTimes) from 2019 to 2022, updated with new and previously unpublished material. These interviews explore

Intro to Psychotherapy — Session 17 “I do not believe that the really severe personality disorders can be affected by anything but serious, strenuous, long-term therapy.” — Aaron T. Beck, MD

I've noticed various "psych meds don't cure" posts. I strongly suspect this isn't universally true. For sure, we can readily bring to mind times when they work (at worst) to suppress/mask, or (at best) like insulin. But why focus only on such cases? Here's an alternative.🧵

Rejection of Hijab as a Psychiatric Problem in Iran https://t.co/JCIUkHYCW1

" Caregivers bristle at the social marginalization of those with profound needs, while many in the neurodiversity movement are frustrated by clinical narratives that default to pathology and misrepresent their lived experience. "

On autism debates:

"What stands out to me in the current debate is the social tension between 2 groups of stakeholders: caregivers of ppl with “profound autism” vs “high-functioning” autistic individuals (of the sort active in the neurodiversity movement)." by @awaisaftab https://t.co/wEUQzlXTwL

It is not ludicrous for mildly and severely impaired to have the same diagnosis https://t.co/bFCZDAhZjC @awaisaftab

It is not ludicrous for mildly and severely impaired to have the same diagnosis Classificatory solutions for social problems https://t.co/kDSxqI27p1

Encouraging to see Psych News covering the recent study on the harms of involuntary hospitalization: https://t.co/aamwAS4qZe Of note, @awaisaftab already covered this study well in this substack post: https://t.co/Uo5UDWtdLP)

A beautiful, compassionate, and informative article by @awaisaftab on complicated grief. If his formulation doesn’t make sense to you, perhaps you need to ask yourself why.

The political topic that psychoanalytic institutes and writers SHOULD address more than any other is the cheapening and commodification of EVERY aspect of psychotherapy, until it is no longer a mix of art, interpersonal skill, deep connection, and medical professionalism, 1/5

This is a terrible idea. First this has zero scientific basis, it’s part of a larger HHS initiative to erode public confidence in vaccinations. Separating the 3 components of MMR will mean that kids will miss one or more components. It will bring back congenital rubella syndrome

Brilliant, nuanced reporting, with great input from @awaisaftab

In Defense of Disordered Grief No, grief has not been given an expiration date https://t.co/fr2YRL69Oa

The post (by @awaisaftab) is available at this link if you want to take a stab at your own comprehension: https://t.co/LjCW1lSqqQ

Looks like somebody got pissy instead of comprehending the subtlety and gist of the blog post.

Interesting post! Indeed the name Prolonged Grief Disorder is bewildering. Would be interesting to apporach the duration criteria of PGD more as an exclusion criteria for disordered grief. In Defense of Disordered Grief, by @awaisaftab

@awaisaftab I like how your arguments are always theoretically rich. Also, how much jargon is avoided. Thank you for this post.

In Defense of Disordered Grief https://t.co/NdWbNwpc9v @awaisaftab

"The point in both DSM and ICD is maladaptation and stuckness, not the passage of a fixed interval of time or a certain number of symptoms. Most grieving people do not meet these criteria." In Defense of Disordered Grief, by @awaisaftab