The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), now in its fifth edition, is used as an authority for psychiatric diagnosis and is constantly under criticism, in controversy, or under revision. Clearly, the diagnosis of mental disorders in an ever-evolving practice. Here are a few books on the history of mental health.

 Neurotribes : The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity by Steve Silberman

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coming of Age on Zoloft : How Antidepressants Cheered Us Up, Let Us Down, and Changed Who We Are by Katherine Sharpe

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Last Asylum : A Memoir of Madness in Our Times by Barbara Taylor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

American Psychosis : How the Federal Government Destroyed the Mental Illness Treatment System by E. Fuller Torrey, MD

 

 

 

 

 

 

Promise Land : My Journey Through America's Self-Help Culture by Jessica Lamb-Shapiro

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Psychopath Test : A Journey Through the Madness Industry by Jon Ronson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Nocebo Effect : Overdiagnosis and Its Costs  by Stewart Justman

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Staff picks are chosen by NYPL staff members and are not intended to​ be comprehensive lists. We'd love to hear your ​ picks! Tell us what you'd recommend: Leave a comment or email us.