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ADHD and “Weak Muscle Disorder”

Mad in America

A ttention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a construct codified by the American Psychiatric Association. The construct originally appeared as ADD in the 1980 edition of psychiatry’s diagnostic manual, and it was modified in the 1994 and 2013 editions. Does this construct have validity? My answer is no.

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Is psychiatric diagnosis of any value?

Critical Psychiatry

In fact a psychiatric diagnosis is an unobservable, hypothetical construct. This blog is called Thinking differently about mental health. The problem is that it is too easy to assume a diagnostic concept is an entity of some kind, which then acts as a justification for treatment. previous post ).

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The Fallacy of Modern Psychiatry: Treating Symptoms, Ignoring Causes

Mad in America

But these patternsseen as symptomsare shaped by systems and constructs psychiatry rarely questions. This expectation is not rooted in nature but in societal constructs that prioritize conformity and productivity over individuality and healing. Psychiatry, rather than challenging these constructs, reinforces them.

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How the Psychosocial Approach Provides an Alternative to the Biomedical Model

Mad in America

How can mental and emotional suffering be approached in a more constructive manner? Often, in order to research these resources one has to first have epistemological knowledge – to understand how knowledge is constructed socially with power relations being in-built into the concepts. The answer lies in the psychosocial approach.

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Don’t Call Me a Therapist

Mad in America

The psychiatric diagnosis is a medical theoretical construct with limited epistemic validity. They come from knowledge acquired through education and experience, personal aptitude, relational skills and a genuine desire to contribute constructively to the individual. We must start taking people’s own experiences seriously.

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Part 3: Neuro-Authenticity, Neuro-Identities, and the Neuro-Industry  

Mad in America

In this blog, a therapist who works with children and young people expands on some of these worrying consequences, including the imposition of identities, the co-option of the neurodiversity movement for personal and professional gain, the restrictions on therapeutic work, and the silencing of dissenting views.

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Trauma and Resources Within Social Context

Mad in America

This is the idea behind psychotherapy: to provide a safe setting in which those issues can be resolved in a new and constructive manner. These new ways of being should, ideally, translate to other areas of one’s life and help them to relate to the world more constructively.