Behaviorism and Mental Health

Alternative perspective on psychiatry's so-called mental disorders | PHILIP HICKEY, PH.D.

Personality Disorders Are Not Illnesses

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The central theme of this blog is that there are no mental illnesses. The concept of mental illness is a spurious invention of psychiatrists and other mental health professionals for the purpose of medicalizing normal human problems and selling drugs. The central tenet of the mental health system is that unusual, bizarre, and disturbing behaviors… Continue Reading

The So-Called Mental Illnesses Are Not Illnesses

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The central theme of this blog is that mental illness is a spurious and invalid concept, which is promoted and developed by the American Psychiatric Association to legitimize the use of mood-altering drugs. It is certainly true that people display various problems in their daily lives and particularly in their interpersonal relationships.  The American Psychiatric… Continue Reading

Schizophrenia Is Not An Illness (Part 3)

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Hallucinations In Schizophrenia Part 1, we noted that the APA lists hallucinations as one of the primary “symptoms” of schizophrenia.  The APA defines an hallucination as follows: “A sensory perception that has the compelling sense of reality of a true perception but that occurs without external stimulation of the relevant sensory organ.” (DSM-IV-TR, p 823)… Continue Reading

Schizophrenia Is Not an Illness (Part 2)

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Delusions, contd. In my last post I pointed out that schizophrenia as defined by DSM is a confusing collection of human problems with no evidence of a common etiology or indeed any valid justification for including them under a common heading.  I discussed delusions and made the point that cognitive distortions of this kind are… Continue Reading