Description:
Since the 1950s, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) has shaped how we define, diagnose, and even experience mental illness. But has it helped us understand people—or just categorize them?
In this episode of Off Label: Data, Diagnostics, and the Future of Mental Health, Dr. Steve Rondeau explores the complex legacy of the DSM—from its early editions shaped by institutional psychiatry to its current status as the gold standard for diagnosis and billing. We trace its evolution, its role in standardizing care, and the many ways it has both empowered and constrained clinicians and patients alike.
With a critical eye, we examine concerns about diagnostic inflation, reductionism, and the cultural and scientific limitations of the categorical model. You'll also hear how brain-based alternatives—like quantitative EEG (qEEG)—are challenging the dominance of symptom checklists and offering new pathways toward personalized, data-informed mental health care.
If you've ever felt boxed in by a diagnosis, or questioned how we decide what counts as “disorder,” this episode pulls back the curtain on psychiatry’s most influential (and controversial) guidebook.
