We still have to rely on DSM to diagnose illness, but thanks to Dr. Insel the end of that state of affairs is a step closer. The identification and treatment of mental illness is about to leave the realm of psychiatry and enter the science of neurology.

I have been arguing for many years in books like Rethinking Depression that the DSM ought to be repudiated. In recent months this idea has been gaining tremendous momentum and just recently the National Institute of Mental Health essentially repudiated the DSM.

For what we need to do in mental health research, the DSM approach is not appropriate. Even if it is still the best way to diagnose disorders and deliver treatment and knit the mental health care system together, it must begin to be supplanted by a new science-based framework.

For many of us, workplaces have supplanted the roles once played by neighborhoods QUESTION Dear Irene, I just found your site while looking for a ...

Right now, well meaning mental health advocates are busy hosting events to reduce the "stigma" of mental illness. Except that there is no 'stigma' to having a mental illness. There is discrimination.

An assessment of basic neurocognitive function should be an essential part of any psychiatric evaluation. The mental health field should adopt a brain-based model for diagnosis and treatment.

QUESTION Dear Dr. Levine, I am reeling from the awareness that certain friends who meant a great deal to me have abruptly turned their back on me no...

On Friday the nation's top autism research coordinator said that better diagnosis could not "explain away this huge increase" in autism. "There's no question that there is an environmental component here."

New findings have potential significance for a number of disorders including, it turns out, autism.

Dr. Landis resigned from the IACC on Saturday after the Age of Autism blog published handwritten notes - assumed to be written by Dr. Landis - speculating on the motives of an autism mother and IACC member.

Now, in one of the largest, boldest studies of its kind, researchers in Philadelphia, Baltimore and Northern California will begin collecting data on many potential risk factors of autism.

The name-change, which both surprised and outraged devotees of the annual ritual, came after the National Institute of Mental Health demanded that the NCAA drop the "Madness" tag.

Yes, there are some cases when close friends need to cut a little slack. Could it be that your friendship feels burdensome and painful because your friend is depressed?