Press: My Interview on NPR's 1A

Without a biological basis, how reliably can we diagnose and treat mental illness?

This post is part of the accompanying tips, resources, interviews with experts, and stories of recovery included in the exclusive serialization of Cured: The Memoir.

Today, I bring you my interview for NPR’s 1A: Without a biological basis, how reliably can we diagnose and treat mental illness?

I write about this issue extensively in my first memoir Pathological: The True Story of Six Misdiagnoses, but I also touch on it in Cured. This interview goes more in-depth. Plus, NPR’s Jenn White is a fantastic interviewer (one of the best).

The interview is surprising. I was joined by Dr. Thomas Insel—psychiatrist, neuroscientist, former director of the National Institute of Mental Health (2002-2015), and author of “Healing: Our Path from Mental Illness to Mental Health”—whom I’ve featured here on Cured. And Dr. Paul Appelbaum—psychiatrist and chair of the DSM-5 Steering Committee and the American Psychiatric Association.

Our conversation is far from combative. In a moment that I see as a triumph for everyone who’s been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder, Dr. Appelbaum agrees that people deserve to know the truth about diagnoses, i.e., that they have no scientific validity and little reliability. Recovery comes from having agency and all the information we need to heal.

Enjoy!

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Visit the Table of Contents and Introduction of Cured:

Find more resources for mental health recovery.

Read the prequel to ‘Cured,’ ‘Pathological’ (HarperCollins):