From the Editor
How does ChatGPT compare to a human therapist for CBT? How often is lithium – arguably the gold standard medication for bipolar disorder – prescribed in Canada? Do young patients do as well as adults with psychotherapy?
In the coming weeks, we will look at papers that attempt to answer these important questions. But today’s Reading is the last one before the Labour Day weekend.
Instead, in a break from our usual format, I offer a few things you may choose to read from a comfortable chair by a lake or, perhaps, in the quiet of a call room if you are working (and a quick thanks to my colleagues for covering my inpatients this long weekend).
This week, there are no detailed descriptions nor commentary. I provide short summaries and an invitation to read one, two, or three of these longer pieces.
DG
“My estranged father died in hospital after years of drug use. He was more than a statistic”
Jordan Foisy
The Globe and Mail, 18 July 2025
“If only this country was as good at taking care of his living body as they were with his dead body, he might still be around…”
This is a long essay – almost 3 000 words – about the last days of the life of the writer’s father. It’s about his death and his life. It’s an essay that delves into substance misuse, estrangement, and words never said. Much has been written about the tragedy of the opioid crisis. Personally and thoughtfully, Fosiy talks about one person. The resulting essay is deeply moving.
The full Globe essay can be found here:
Fads and Fallacies in Psychiatry
Joel Paris
Cambridge University Press, 2023
Disorders like depression are overdiagnosed. Meds are overprescribed. Psychiatry is in crisis. So argues the author of this compelling book.
Dr. Joel Paris, though, isn’t part of the anti-psychiatry moment. Far from it. Dr. Paris has had a remarkable career as a psychiatrist, spanning some 50 years. He has seen over 30 000 patients. He is also prolific, having authored almost two dozen books.
Fad and Fallacies, now in its second edition, is excellent. Guided by evidence, he is highly critical. He also points a way forward.
You can find a long excerpt, provided by the author, here:
https://davidgratzer.com/uncategorized/fads-and-fallacies-in-psychiatry/
“Why people follow rules”
Simon Gächter, Lucas Molleman, and Daniele Nosenzo
Nature Human Behaviour, 26 May 2025
In the Reading series, we largely focus on papers – so I’ll include one in this list of suggestions.
Who follows rules and who doesn’t?
This study involved more than 14 000 people and had several phases. They find: “55 – 70% of participants conform to an arbitrary costly rule, even though they act anonymously and alone, and violations hurt no one.” They also note that rule breaking can be contagious.
The full Nature Human Behaviour paper can be found here:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-025-02196-4
Reading of the Week. Every week I pick articles and papers from the world of Psychiatry.
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