A medical doctor often diagnoses physical ailments through a series of lab tests, x-rays, observations, and data analysis. There are multiple proven guidelines and resources in place for the treatment of disease, fractures, organ failure, and other physical illnesses. But, for mental health diagnoses, one book, currently in its fifth revision, is the go-to manual for all mental health professionals. To explore how the manual was created, its major flaws, and the consequential misdiagnoses that come from it, Positive Psychology Podcast Host Lisa Cypers Kamen speaks with author and activist Sarah Fay about her investigation and dissection of the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM. In her book, Pathological: The True Story of Six Misdiagnoses, Sarah shares the personal mental health journey that led to her writing the book and why she created a public awareness campaign to identify the dangers of the DSM.

Sarah Fay — Mental Health Diagnosis:

• Most of the conditions included in the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) are scientifically invalid. [2:05]
• Sarah explains one of the main flaws of the DSM and how 46% of American adults will receive an unproven DSM diagnosis. [8:35]
• Examples of how DSM diagnoses can be racially biased and stigmatizing. [17:26]
• A mental health diagnosis can be a starting point but is in no way a proven truth. [24:17]
• Sarah shares the personal mental health journey that she documents in her book, Pathological: The True Story of Six Misdiagnoses.  [29:40]

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About Lisa’s guest:

Sarah Fay PhD is an author and activist. Her writing appears in many publications, including The New York Times, The Atlantic, and Time Magazine among many others. She’s currently on the faculty at Northwestern University and DePaul University and is the founder of Pathological: The Movement, a public awareness campaign devoted to making people aware of the unreliability and invalidity of DSM diagnoses and the dangers of identifying with an unproven mental illness. She holds an M.F.A. in Creative Writing and a PhD in English Literary Studies.

“Is a challenge the same as an illness?" - Lisa Cypers Kamen