Joanna Moncrieff : The Serotonin Myth Of Depression

In this conversation, I speak with Joanna Moncrieff on the role (or lack of) of serotonin in depression. Joanna has written several books in the field of critical psychiatry, most recently publishing 'The Serotonin Myth Of Depression'

In this book Joanna tracks the history of where this assumption originated and how the pharmaceutical company played a part.

02:25 What is the serotonin myth of depression
03:45 Publishing a paper
04:30 Findings of review
05:30 Serotonin theory history
07:22 Psychiatric versus pharmaceutical position
08:00 Neural reductionism, causation and correlation
09:50 Causal studies
11:30 Drug vs diseased based model of psychiatric drugs
15:30 Alcohol as an exemplar
17:30 How SSRI work
22:45 Placebo and philosophy
26:20 Pharmaceutical industry and history of depression
28:40 Getting off SSRI
31:20 Different depressions
41:00 Joanna message

[professorlean]

Very interesting watch, keep the content coming!

Thanks for sharing, I really enjoyed the conversation, and I'm looking forward to reading Joanna's book. As a clinical psychologist, I totally subscribe to her perspective about the role that emotions play in depression and other psychological conditions. Unfortunately, conventional psychological approaches like talk therapy are no better than medication for emotional regulation. Mind-body techniques like EFT - Emotional Freedom Techniques, also known as Tapping, are a safe, quick, and effective way of accomplishing that, and with no iatrogenesis.