The Modern Therapist's Survival Guide with Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy

It’s NOT a Chemical Imbalance

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It’s NOT a Chemical Imbalance

An interview with Dr. Kristen Syme on the situational and cultural impacts on depression. Curt and Katie talk with Dr. Syme about the role anthropology can play in helping to challenge long held assumptions in psychology. We look at conceptualizations for depression and suicidality and how the over focus (in the Western world) on the individual as the agent for mental health and wellness. We talk about how the chemical imbalance model doesn’t hold up as well as better explanations for depression and suicidality.  

In this episode we talk about:

  • Syme’s research and how she is working to challenging assumptions
  • The lack of attention on networks and systems and an over-focus on “the self” as an agent for mental health and wellness
  • How psychological pain is signaling us that there are things in our environment that are unhealthy for us
  • Depression and psychological pain are not just within us, but also around us
  • What is wrong with the idea of “chemical imbalance” model
  • Adversity causes depression
  • The problem of saying “there’s a pill for that”
  • The work case for depression research
  • Ethical issues related to medicating away depression or psychological pain
  • How non-western cultures address psychological pain
  • There is “not a direct translation for depression in any other language” – Kristen Syme
  • The internal idea of the imbalance of black bile that leads directly through the ages to the concept of imbalance of serotonin
  • How other cultures talk about depression and situations, with more refined, specific language
  • How our language creates our reality around depression and how broadly we define it
  • How common depression (as broadly defined) is in the modern world
  • The lack of evidence for a “chemical imbalance”
  • How big pharma has impacted the conceptualization of depression
  • The inadequacy of treatment based on this conceptualization
  • The causes of suicidality: sexual assault, forced marriages, abuse
  • The problem of trivializing “seeking attention”
  • The tendency of coming up with “the theory”
  • Looking at how people might be better served by the mental health system
  • The importance of creativity and novelty in identifying better treatment

    • Resources mentioned:

    We’ve pulled together resources mentioned in this episode and put together some handy-dandy links. Please note that some of the links below may be affiliate links, so if you purchase after clicking below, we may get a little bit of cash in our pockets. We thank you in advance!

    Article: Mental health is biological health: Why tackling “diseases of the mind” is an imperative for biological anthropology in the 21st century

    Dr. Kristen Syme on Twitter

    Dr. Kristen Syme on Google Scholar

     

    Relevant Episodes:

    Burnout or Depression

    Is Therapy an Opiate of the Masses?

     

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    Credits:

    Voice Over by DW McCann https://www.facebook.com/McCannDW/

    Music by Crystal Grooms Mangano http://www.crystalmangano.com/

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    The Modern Therapist's Survival Guide with Curt Widhalm and Katie VernoyBy Curt Widhalm, LMFT and Katie Vernoy, LMFT
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