Send a text

In this episode of Behind the Stigma, I sit down with Jerome Wakefield, NYU Professor and originator of the influential “harmful dysfunction” theory of mental disorder. We explore what makes something truly pathological, the fuzzy boundary between normal suffering and disorder, and the philosophical foundations shaping modern psychiatry.

We also discuss the DSM and it's removal of the bereavement exclusion in depression, evolutionary perspectives on neurodiversity movements and his work on harmful dysfunction. This conversation asked a central question: when does human distress become a mental disorder, and does that distinction matter?

About Jerome Wakefied

Dr. Wakefield is an NYU University Professor and Professor at NYU Silver, known internationally for his groundbreaking work at the intersection of philosophy, psychiatry, and psychology. He has authored over 300 publications on the conceptual foundations of mental health theory.

He is best known for developing the influential “harmful dysfunction” analysis of mental disorder, the most cited framework for distinguishing true disorder from normal distress. His work has shaped debates on DSM diagnoses, grief, depression, anxiety, and the boundary between pathology and everyday suffering. He is also the coauthor of the award-winning books The Loss of Sadness (2007) and All We Have to Fear (2012), and has contributed major analyses in psychoanalysis, social work theory, and evolutionary perspectives on mental health.

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=NkiWM10AAAAJ&hl=en

Paper on Harmful Dysfunction analysis: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2174594/

Paper on the Theory of generativity: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1998-07139-005

Books: https://www.amazon.com/Loss-Sadness-Psychiatry-Transformed-Depressive-ebook/dp/B001CHRHHO

https://www.amazon.com/All-Have-Fear-Psychiatrys-Transformation/dp/0199793751

Subscribe to the Behind the Stigma podcast on YouTube, Apple Podcast or Spotify. Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthestigmapodcast/

Send a text

In this episode of Behind the Stigma, I sit down with Dr. Prince Kouassi, Assistant Professor and Chair of the Psychology Department at the American University of Dubai, to explore the landscape of mental health in the UAE. We discuss whether we are over-diagnosing mental health, the educational psychology market and careers in the UAE, using AI in the classroom and his thoughts on digital mental health apps. Timestamps added!

About Dr. Prince Kouassi
Dr. Kouassi is an Assistant Professor of Psychology and the Chair of the Department of Psychology at the American University of Dubai. He completed his Ph.D. at City, University of London (UK) in computational psychology, and after completing his PhD accepted a Teaching Fellowship in Psychology at Coventry University (UK). Dr. Kouassi has a wide range of active research interests in psychology which include but not limited to cognitive modeling, quantum probability applications, research participation, psychology education, and the practical application of psychological principles in the workplace.

Find him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-prince-kouassi-phd-0616a71aa/

Subscribe to the Behind the Stigma podcast on YouTube, Apple Podcast or Spotify. Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthestigmapodcast/

Send us a text

In this episode, I speak with Professor Edouard Machery to explore experimental philosophy and the question of whether morality is truly universal. We discuss why humans need morals in the first place, why we often fail to live up to our own moral ideals. We also look at cross-cultural differences in moral judgments, the limits of relying on intuition in philosophy, and what new technologies like VR reveal about the gap between moral judgment and moral action. Timestamps added!

About Edouard Machery

Professor Machery is the Director of the Center for Philosophy of Science and Professor at The University of Pittsburgh. His research focuses on the philosophical issues raised by the cognitive sciences, currently focusing on the methodology of experimental psychology. His recent research projects and publications also include the nature and origin of racial categorization, the application of evolutionary theories to human cognition, the nature of culture, and the structure of moral concepts. Finally, he is involved in the development of experimental philosophy, and has used experimental and quasi-experimental methods to study intuitions about reference, folk judgments about intentional action, causation, the folk concept of race, and the folk concept of phenomenal consciousness.

Website: https://www.edouardmachery.com/

Books

Doing without concepts - https://global.oup.com/academic/product/doing-without-concepts-9780195306880?cc=ae&lang=en&

Philosophy within its proper bounds - https://www.amazon.com/Philosophy-Within-Its-Proper-Bounds/dp/019880752X

Book Chapter: Experimental Philosophy of Science: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781118661666.ch33

Bluesky: @edouardmachery.bsky.social

Subscribe to the Behind the Stigma podcast on YouTube, Apple Podcast or Spotify. Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthestigmapodcast/