The DSM, every version since the first, is so bogus that no one need worry about voicing or writing any “diagnosis” arising from whatever words are in it. Today it is just a shortcut list of favorite code numbers used by clinicians to make sure insurance companies come through with the payments.

Check out the 2013 book by long-time psychotherapist Gary Greenberg called The Book of Woe: The DSM and the Unmaking of Psychiatry. It contains all you ever wanted to know about the various versions of the DSM, and the long history behind them.

Greenberg is not a critic, but his honest recital of the facts surrounding the who, what, when, where and why of the various DSM versions shows the many weaknesses quite clearly.

If you can’t afford it, let me know and I’ll check to see if there is some way I can legally send parts of it under Fair Use.

Tam —

If you’re talking about David Miscavige or $cientologists, I assure you that a ton of people who read and post on this blog DO know him and them quite well. People here were in the cult. Passing unfair judgment? Give me a break.

David Miscavige is the epitome of an anti-social personality, as well as a narcissistic and abusive asshole of the highest order.

Most $cientologists are the same. That’s a fact.

Brian – well said, I always love your comments. By the way I saw your interview with Ron Sr. and it was GREAT. Cant’ wait for part 2. I really admire your spiritual journey since leaving the cult and appreciate your eloquent explanations of your thought process here and on that podcast. Hugs.

My wife and I have taken our health into our hands by our own study and application of what we have studied.
My wife knows more about health, food and exercise than most MDs.

As a result of that we have come to a conclusion that we are at a time in our culture where the common man and women, by virtue of instantaneous availability of information for research are in a superior vantage point than past generations.

It is not rocket science to observe the behavior of violent people who have no remorse for the suffering they cause and label them a sociopath.

I have respect for doctors. But I have taken them off the pedestal of “ infallible sage”.

We do not have to wait for the approval of “experts” to know what we know.

A lot of us are totally done with that disempowering surrendering of what is known to “experts”.

Experts said eggs where bad
Then they said eggs where good
Experts said fat was bad
Experts then learned some fats were good
Experts said cholesterol was bad
Then they said some cholesterol was good
Science made margarine and we thought it was good
Then science said trans fat from margarine is deadly.

When it comes to labeling Hubbard and DM sociopaths, we do not need the approval of ivory tower experts to know what we know, through observation and experience – the process of scientific knowing, to conclude that these two creatures are dangerous sociopaths.

More blathering Tam. It isn’t “my” idea of scientific. Please go earn a degree in a field of SCIENCE and you will learn about the SCIENTIFIC method. Since you are clueless about THAT, you cannot intelligently converse on the subject you are blathering on about.

Its reliability as a diagnostic tool has been argued for decades. The DSM is compiled via consensus (which is obviously subject to change) and when that fails, a vote. Very sciencey.

As there is no conclusive scientific means of proving a patient actually has any of its listed mental “disorders”, the only thing the DSM can reliably show is how much two people agree on specific categories of symptoms (via Cohen’s Kappa). It is also a fact that kappa reliability standards for the DSM V are lower now than when they were first introduced for the DSM III, which suggests said agreement is no longer all that firm.

But even if it was, do these arbitrary “disorders” ultimately help us understand the root causes of psychological discomfort and the human condition? (What about your sun sign and your ascendant?) Many psychiatrists and most psychologists (particularly in Europe) would arguably say no.

Yes, I think the little guy sensed that he would be crushed instantly.

Oh, I knew Paula when she audited for AOLA. I thought she married Vic Ukerman. I left mid 1996. Sad. Of course she said cremation – how could she expect anything else. But to think her wishes don’t matter and a promise is not important. I wonder what happened to Vic.