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Awais Aftab

Psychiatrist and writer; author of the newsletter Psychiatry at the Margins and editor of Conversations in Critical Psychiatry.

6 things

Unshrunk: A Story of Psychiatric Treatment ResistanceBook Laura Delano

liked

(publication date March 18, 2025, Viking) by Laura Delano is a compelling and troubling memoir of psychiatric patienthood, iatrogenic harm, and finding a meaningful and flourishing life outside of the mental healthcare system.

His review of Laura Delano’s memoir Unshrunk in Psychiatry at the Margins.

2025-02-23·psychiatrymargins.com ↗

Roll Back the World: A Sister’s MemoirBook Deborah Kasdan

liked

Deborah Kasdan’s Roll Back the World: A Sister’s Memoir (2023) is an honest and vulnerable account of her sister Rachel’s life with schizophrenia and the challenges this presented for the family.

His book review of Deborah Kasdan’s memoir about her sister’s life with schizophrenia.

2025-01-25·psychiatrymargins.com ↗

Psychedelic AlphaOther Josh Hardman

liked

Josh Hardman at Psychedelic Alpha provided a detailed live account of the advisory committee meeting, which I found very helpful in developing a more granular sense of how the meeting unfolded without having to watch it myself.

A links roundup where he points readers to newsletters and coverage he rates; here on the FDA advisory committee on MDMA-assisted therapy.

2024-06-13·psychiatrymargins.com ↗

Susan T. Mahler, MDOther

recommended

One of the finest writers in medical humanities today.

Awais Aftab's own recommendation blurb for the newsletter Susan T. Mahler, MD, on their Substack's recommendations page.

2025-04-22·psychiatrymargins.com ↗

The InfinitesimalOther Sasha Gusev

recommended

Extraordinarily perceptive critical commentary

Awais Aftab's own recommendation blurb for the newsletter The Infinitesimal, on their Substack's recommendations page.

2024-08-21·psychiatrymargins.com ↗

How Does the Psychiatrist Know?: On the Epistemology of Psychiatric Diagnostic ReasoningBook Adrian Kind

read

Recently I reviewed Adrian Kind’s 2025 book, “How Does the Psychiatrist Know?: On the Epistemology of Psychiatric Diagnostic Reasoning,” on this substack. I had mentioned that Kind’s book is the first systematic, in-depth, book-length philosophical investigation into how psychiatrists arrive at their diagnostic conclusions.

His introduction to a guest post, recalling his own review of Adrian Kind’s book on psychiatric diagnostic reasoning.

2025-05-25·psychiatrymargins.com ↗

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