Stating unequivocally that there is no such thing as mental disease is a pretty ballsy thing for a psychiatrist to do. When said psychiatrist is also a prominent professor at the University of Toronto’s medical school and a practicing clinician at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, such a statement could be professional suicide. But Dr. Gordon Warme, the doctor in question, has been espousing this opinion for years, and has published three books to back his assertion up. His latest delves into the “myth” of mental disorders such as schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, and even multiple chemical sensitivities, and examines how his colleagues in the field of psychiatry are failing those who claim to suffer from the disorders by telling them they have a disease (or are “lesser,” as Warme puts it) and giving them permission to give up.

Warme believes that because science has yet to discover a biological basis for mental illness (though many researchers would heartily disagree), there is no basis for labelling psychological troubles as “disease.” His opinion is not a popular one, and it has helped make Warme a rather contentious figure in his field. He claims other psychiatrists fail their patients by throwing antidepressants and neuroleptic drugs at them, instead of really treating them. As a follower of Freud, Warme believes psychoanalysis works. Drugs, if they are effective, are only so because of a placebo effect. The same effect, he says, can be had through power of suggestion or through an appreciation of art.

Readers may not agree with Warme’s opinions, but ultimately, his book is interesting and well written. Critics have called him uninformed and behind on his research, but he presents his arguments with conviction and a good dose of self-deprecation, no doubt designed to cushion the blow of his message. Approached with an open mind, and perhaps taken with a grain of salt, Warme’s rant achieves his ultimate goal: it forces people to think.