How seeing problems in the brain makes the stigma disappear

As a psychiatrist, I find that one of the most difficult parts of my job is telling parents and their children that they are not responsible for their illness.

Children with emotional and behavioral problems still suffer from significant stigma. Many in the medical community call them “diagnostic and therapeutic orphans.” Unfortunately, access to quality mental health care remains elusive for many.

An accurate diagnosis is the best way to determine whether someone will respond well to treatment, although that can be much more complicated than it sounds.

I have written three textbooks on the use of medications in ...