In Front of the Mirror - The English Podcast

The DSM is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Some have described it as the “bible of psychiatry.” And, much like the Bible – or a constitution – it feels like one of those texts that quietly shape our society, and our lives, whether we’ve actually read it or not. Its vocabulary slips into our everyday conversations. Its descriptions help form the concepts we use to understand ourselves and others. In short, reading it, understanding it, and maybe even criticizing it, seems almost mandatory.So today we want to ask: what do we actually find inside this manual? What principles guide it? And how can we reflect on it?Every other Monday, at 12pm.Follow us on:Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠mirror_podcast_⁠⁠⁠Substack: ⁠⁠⁠In front of the mirror⁠⁠⁠This project exists in Italian as well: ⁠⁠⁠In Front of the Mirror - Il Podcast in italiano⁠⁠References:Rossi Monti, M. (2016). Manuale di psichiatria per psicologi. Carocci Editore.

Sooner or later, in life, we have all received a diagnosis.An expert comes to us, or we go to them, and they utter some words that can sometimes change the course of our lives, for better or for worse.Words like “cold,” “gastritis,” “sore throat,” “ADHD,” or “major depression.” Well then, what do these words have in common? Why do we call all of them “diagnoses”?Every other Monday, at 12pm.Follow us on:Instagram: ⁠mirror_podcast_⁠Substack: ⁠In front of the mirror⁠This project exists in Italian as well: ⁠In Front of the Mirror - Il Podcast in italiano⁠References:Hacking, I. (1995). The looping effects of human kinds. In D. Sperber, D. Premack, & A. J. Premack (Eds.), Causal cognition: A multidisciplinary debate (pp. 351–394). Clarendon Press/Oxford University Press.Lingiardi, V. (2018). Diagnosi e destino. Einaudi.Lingiardi, V. (2021). Arcipelago N. Variazioni sul narcisismo. Einaudi.Sadler, J. Z. (2004). Diagnosis/antidiagnosis. In J. Radden (Ed.), The philosophy of psychiatry: A companion (pp. 163–179). Oxford University Press

The possibility of being offered and exposed to a multiplicity of frameworks reflects and respects the complex nature of mental health phenomena. Rather than finding themselves encapsulated within the neat confines of only one narrative, the person would benefit from choosing and adopting one or more stories and narratives that make sense to them. In light of this, we ask: are there frameworks that do more good than others? To what extent should the clinician guide, direct, or even impose particular narratives? Can the epistemic significance of a symptom be overlooked or misinterpreted?In the attempt to make complexity compelling, we are joined for the second time by Jazmine Russell, who is a mental health educator, writer, and interdisciplinary scholar focused on bridging mental health, mind-body healing, and societal change. She is the co-founder of the Institute for the Development of Human Arts, a transformative mental health training institute and the founder & host of the Depth Work Podcast. Drawing on her lived experiences and professional training working both within and outside the mental health system, Jazmine is a holistic counselor and trauma-informed holotropic breathwork practitioner. She co-edited the Mad Studies Reader: Interdisciplinary Innovations in Mental Health (Routledge, 2024). Find her work at ⁠www.depth-work.com⁠ and ⁠www.JazmineRussell.com⁠Every other Monday, at 12pm.Follow us on:Instagram: ⁠@mirror_podcast_⁠This project exists in Italian as well: ⁠In Front of the Mirror - Il Podcast in Italiano

What are hallucinations, depressive episodes, or panic attacks?We know what they are, of course - psychiatric symptoms. The problem is that we don’t know what they are - ontologically.Which is to say: are they the manifestations of a compromised neurobiological mechanism? Or perhaps phenomena carrying a meaning to be deciphered? Adaptive strategies, defense mechanisms?The ninth episode is a philosophical inquiry into the nature of psychiatric symptoms and the power of the conceptual lenses we wear to understand them.ReferencesEagle, M. N. (2011). From classical to contemporary psychoanalysis: A critique and integration. Routledge.Ritunnano, R., Humpston, C., & Broome, M. R. (2022). Finding order within the disorder: A case study exploring the meaningfulness of delusions. BJPsych Bulletin, 46(2), 109–115. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjb.2020.151Russell, J. (2024). How delusions can uncover sources of harm and pathology: The epistemic value of interoceptive & unconscious information. Philosophy and the Mind Sciences, 5. https://doi.org/10.33735/phimisci.2024.11490Every other Monday, at 12pm.Follow us on:Instagram: @mirror_podcast_This project exists in Italian as well: In Front of the Mirror - Il podcast in Italiano

When do we become who we are? What makes me the person I am, and not someone else?How far back should we go, to find that out?And what does it mean to embrace our destiny, to own our story?Today we are thrilled to discuss these topics with Susi Ferrarello, philosopher, Professor at California State University, East Bay, and philosophical counsellor.Susi's book: Ferrarello, S. (2024). The Phenomenology of Pregnancy and Early Motherhood: Ethical, Social, and Psychological Perspectives (1st ed.). Routledge.Other references:Ammaniti, M., & Gallese, V. (2014). The birth of intersubjectivity: Psychodynamics, neurobiology, and the self. W. W. Norton & Company.Beebe, B., & Steele, M. (2013). How does microanalysis of mother–infant communication inform maternal sensitivity and infant attachment? Attachment & Human Development, 15(5–6), 583–602. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616734.2013.841050Hillman, J. (1996)The Soul’s Code: In Search of Character and Calling.

One says that depression, anorexia and phobia is something we ‘have’, and ‘suffer from’. But what does ‘having’ a psychiatric condition mean?One says these pathologies happen to the person, and are foreign to them. So: one is not autistic, one has autism. Or, at least, this is what they say.One says that this formulation is first and foremost a moral conquest. In assuming so, we stop blaming the person. But can this really alleviate the stigma?In this episode Giacomo will be the spokesperson of the “having” formulation. But Cristiano has got some objections.So: does one have a mental illness, or should we rather say that one is mentally ill? If the title didn’t make it clear enough, this debate will be our focus for this, and the next episode.References:Laing, R. D. (1960) The divided self: An existential study in sanity and madness. Penguin BooksSass, L. A. (2007). `Schizophrenic Person’ or `Person with Schizophrenia’? An Essay on Illness and the Self. Theory & Psychology, 17(3), 395-420. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959354307073152 Sapolsky’s video on the neurobiology of depression:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOAgplgTxfc14 years later, Sapolsky has updated his lecture.Link to the new version:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzUXcBTQXKMEvery other Monday, at 12pm.Follow us on:⁠⁠Instagram: @mirror_podcast_⁠⁠This project exists in Italian as well: ⁠In Front of the Mirror - Il Podcast in Italiano⁠

What makes a pattern of behavior, thinking and feeling a disorder, a pathology?Is it the presence of a dysfunction, suffering, a conflict with societal norms?Can these criteria truly demarcate what is defined as pathological from what is not?In this episode, Cristiano will scrutinize these very criteria, questioning them.This episode continues the analysis that Giacomo began in the previous one, between normality and normativity.References:Bortolotti, L. (2023). Why Delusions Matter. Bloomsbury PublishingButler, PV (2000)Reverse Othello syndrome subsequent to traumatic brain injury. Psychiatry. doi: 10.1080/00332747.2000.11024897.May, J. (2023). Neuroethics: Agency in the Age of Brain Science. New York, US: Oxford University Press.McKay R, Langdon R, Coltheart M. (2005) "Sleights of mind": delusions, defences, and self-deception. Cogn Neuropsychiatry. doi: 10.1080/13546800444000074.Münch R, Walter H and Müller S (2020) Should Behavior Harmful to Others Be a Sufficient Criterion of Mental Disorders? Conceptual Problems of the Diagnoses of Antisocial Personality Disorder and Pedophilic Disorder. Front. Psychiatry. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.558655Nesse RM, Stein DJ. (2012) Towards a genuinely medical model for psychiatric nosology. BMC Med. doi: 10.1186/1741-7015-10-5.Stanghellini, G. (2018). Metaphors of pathology. International Review of Psychiatry, 30(2), 140–152. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540261.2018.1444011The British Psychological Society. (2014). Understanding Psychosis and Schizophrenia.Institute for the Study of the Neurologically Typical: https://erikengdahl.se/autism/isnt/Downside Up | A short film by Peter Ghesquiere: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNxO-wv3S9o-Every other Monday, at 12pm.Follow us on:⁠⁠Instagram: @mirror_podcast_⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter/𝕏: @mirror_podcast⁠This project exists in Italian as well: ⁠In Front of the Mirror - Il Podcast in Italiano⁠

When one claims that a disorder is psychiatric:What is the intrinsic nature of this adjective? What makes some kinds of experiences psychiatric, instead of something else? And, in what way do these experiences affect the person who goes through them?References:de Haan, S.(2020). Enactive Psychiatry. Cambridge University Press.Dennett, D. C. (2013). Intuition pumps and other tools for thinking. Penguin Books.Freud, S. (1940). An outline of psycho-analysis. The International Journal of Psychoanalysis.Kandel, E.R. (2018). The disordered mind. What unusual brains tell us about ourselves. Robinson press. Schwarz, R.C. Sweezy, M. (2023). Internal Family System Therapy. The Guilford Family Therapy. -Every other Monday, at 12pm.Follow us on:Instagram: @mirror_podcast_Twitter/X: @mirror_podcastThis project exists in Italian as well: In Front of the Mirror - Il Podcast in Italiano

Trailer - In Front of the Mirror