Strait jackets. Lobotomies. Scary nurses reminiscent of Nurse Ratched. Audiences are both freaked out and captivated by psychiatric hospitals. That’s probably why it’s one of the most popular settings for a horror movie—even when not set in one, raging axe-toting chainsaw-waving murderers often seem to be escapees from them. From the fictional Smith’s Grove Sanitarium, […] More »

The DSM-5 is the newest edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual—the book of mental illnesses. The tome has been around since the ’50s, and updated editions have reflected changing social norms— homosexuality was taken out in 1973. Over its five editions, names have changed, symptoms have changed, and new illnesses […] More »