Shrinks: The Untold Story of Psychiatry

by Jeffrey A. Lieberman, MD,
Psychology Today, April 21, 2015

The publication of the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Illness in 1980 was a pivotal moment in the history of medicine. DSM III eliminated all references to etiology (causes of illnesses) that were not supported by empirical data, to “depressive neurosis” as a diagnosis, and to the value of excavating the unconscious of patients or interpreting the latent symbolism of their dreams. According to Jeffrey Lieberman, a professor of psychology at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and former president of the American Psychiatric Association, DSM III “permanently banished psychoanalytic theory” from psychiatric theory and research.

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