Every so often Al Frances says something that seems to surprise even him. Just now, for instance, in the predawn darkness of his comfortable, rambling home in Carmel, California, he has broken off his exercise routine to declare that \u201cthere is no definition of a mental disorder. It\u2019s bullshit. I mean, you just can\u2019t define it.\u201d Then an odd, reflective look crosses his face, as if he\u2019s taking in the strangeness of this scene: Allen Frances, lead editor of the fourth edition of the American Psychiatric Association\u2019s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (universally known as the DSM-IV), the guy who wrote the book on mental illness, confessing that \u201cthese concepts are virtually impossible to define precisely with bright lines at the boundaries.\u201d For the first time in two days, the conversation comes to an awkward halt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Every so often Al Frances says something that seems to surprise even him. Just now, for instance, in the predawn darkness of his comfortable, rambling home in Carmel, California, he has broken off his exercise routine to declare that \u201cthere is no definition of a mental disorder. It\u2019s bullshit. I mean, you just can\u2019t define … <\/p>\n