Title: Big Pharma and the Making of Modern Mental Illness
Subtitle: A Critical Inquiry into Psychiatric Drug Efficacy and Harm
Subject Classification:  Psychology, Medicine and Medical Ethics, Business and Management  
BIC Classification: MMH, MB, KJ
BISAC Classification:
Binding: Hardback, eBook
Planned publication date: Dec 2026
ISBN (Hardback): 978-1-83711-787-1
ISBN (eBook): 978-1-83711-788-8

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Description

This book examines the contested terrain of contemporary psychopharmacology, arguing that widespread use of psychiatric drugs rests on an unstable evidence base and carries neglected long term risks. Drawing on research that questions the clinical significance of drug–placebo differences, as well as critiques of trial designs confounded by withdrawal effects, it shows how flagship efficacy claims often obscure modest benefits and substantial harms.

These narratives are situated within a political economic analysis of how pharmaceutical industry funding, marketing, and data management shape diagnostic practices, clinical decision-making, and public understandings of “mental illness.” Tackled are issues regarding the FDA’s role in supporting the mainstream picture and Big Pharma’s influence on the DSM.

By bringing together critical appraisal of the scientific literature and analysis of Big Pharma’s structural power, the book calls for a reimagining of mental health care that prioritizes informed consent, withdrawal-safe prescribing, and nonpharmacological forms of support.

Big Pharma and the Making of Modern Mental Illness is the ninth Volume of the Ethics International Press Critical Psychology and Critical Psychiatry Series.

Biography

Editor(s):  Arnoldo Cantú, LCSW is a clinical social worker and psychotherapist with experience in school social work, private practice, community mental health, and currently working in primary care behavioral health seeing children, adolescents, families, and adults. Jeffrey Lacasse is a professor at Florida State University, USA. Dr. Eric Maisel, Ph.D., is a former family therapist, based in California, USA, who works actively as a creativity coach. He is the author of many books on creativity, psychology, and mental health.

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