Cracked: why psychiatry is doing more harm than good

Why is psychiatry such big business? Why are so many psychiatric drugs prescribed, and why has the number of mental disorders risen from 106 in 1952, to around 370 today?

In this talk, Dr James Davies takes us behind the scenes of how the psychiatrist's bible, the DSM, was actually written - did science drive the construction of new mental disorder categories like ADHD, major depression and Aspergers? – or were less-scientific and unexpected processes at play? Has the rapid medicalisation of everyday life been justified, and who is this really helping? His exclusive interviews with the creators of the DSM reveal the answer.
Dr James Davies holds a doctorate from the University of Oxford in social and medical anthropology. He is a senior lecturer in social anthropology and psychotherapy at the University of Roehampton and a practicing psychotherapist (UKCP). He has written widely in academe and has delivered lectures at Harvard, Oxford, Brown, UCL, Columbia, and The New School (New York). James has also written for The Times, The New Scientist, The Guardian and Salon. He is author of the recent and controversial book Cracked: why psychiatry is doing more harm than good (Icon Books).

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