In this profound episode of Psychiatry Boot Camp, host Dr. Mark Mullen sits down with world-renowned researcher and clinician Dr. Jonathan Shedler. Moving beyond the "alphabet soup" of modern modalities, Dr. Shedler argues for a return to the foundational psychoanalytic principles that constitute the "trunk and roots" of all effective talk therapy.The discussion challenges the standard medical model of "diagnose and prescribe," urging psychiatrists to unlearn passive history-taking in favor…
In this brief bonus segment of Psychiatry Boot Camp, host Dr. Mark Mullen steps into the feed with a direct request from you...the listeners.As Season Four approaches its conclusion, the platform is shifting its final episode to a peer-responsive format driven entirely by listener inputs. Dr. Mullen notes that the season has featured highly controversial topics and that he frequently abandoned an unbiased stance to take explicit clinical positions.Psychiatrists, residents, and mental he…
In this episode of Psychiatry Boot Camp, host Dr. Mark Mullen is joined by Dr. Justin Romano, a child and adolescent psychiatrist and host of the Millennial Mental Health Channel.Dr. Romano explores the burgeoning crisis of screen dependence and technology addiction, drawing parallels between cell phone use and traditional substance use disorders. The discussion highlights how addictive design, powered by algorithms and AI, hijacks the dopamine reward pathways in children’s plastic, develop…
In this provocative episode of Psychiatry Boot Camp, Dr. Omar Mirza discusses the limitations and potential harms of the standard Applebaum-Grisso criteria for decisional capacity.Dr. Mirza argues that the current medicalized focus on cognitive abilities (understanding, appreciation, reasoning) can inadvertently subvert patient autonomy. The conversation traces the legal evolution of informed consent, from Schloendorff to the Nuremberg Code, and introduces radical alternative frameworks: Dr…
In this second part of a special double feature, Dr. Awais Aftab, MD, Clinical Associate Professor at Case Western Reserve University, presents a rigorous framework for the next iteration of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.Dr. Aftab details six specific structural reforms for the DSM-6, beginning with a conceptual clarification of "mental disorder" to distinguish between biological dysfunction and socio-cultural atypicality. The discussion challenges the arbitrary …
In this episode of Psychiatry Boot Camp, host Dr. Mark Mullen sits down with Dr. Awais Aftab, MD, a psychiatrist and Clinical Associate Professor at Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Aftab, well-known for his "Psychiatry at the Margins" Substack and "Conversations in Critical Psychiatry" series, explores the necessity of "conceptual competence" in modern practice. The discussion delves into the "Psychiatric Psychodrama," analyzing how material inequalities fuel polarized culture wars between…
In this episode of Psychiatry Boot Camp, Dr. Mark Mullen speaks with Dr. Owen Muir, psychiatrist, entrepreneur, and Chief Medical Officer of Radial Health, about the growing role of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in psychiatric treatment.The discussion explores how TMS works as a form of noninvasive neuromodulation, using focused magnetic fields to influence neural circuits implicated in depression and other psychiatric conditions. Dr. Muir reviews the evidence supporting TMS for…
In this episode of Psychiatry Boot Camp, Dr. Mark Mullen speaks with psychiatrist and medical ethicist Dr. Mark Komrad about physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia, focusing particularly on their implications for psychiatric practice.The discussion reviews the terminology, legal frameworks, and international trends surrounding assisted death, including developments in Belgium, the Netherlands, Canada, and multiple U.S. states. Dr. Komrad outlines concerns regarding capacity assessments, …
In this episode of Psychiatry Bootcamp, Dr. Mark Mullen is joined by Dr. Dinah Miller, psychiatrist, writer, and author of Committed: The Battle Over Involuntary Psychiatric Care, for a rigorous examination of civil commitment and involuntary treatment in modern psychiatry.The conversation explores the legal structures underlying involuntary hospitalization, medication over objection, and outpatient civil commitment, while highlighting the profound ethical tensions between patient autonomy,…
Dr. Nicholas Kontos, Director of the Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital and assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, joins us for a reflective conversation on fact...