One of the first terms that parents and others hear when someone shows symptoms of having a mental disorder is “chemical imbalance.” It is the catch-all that often is used to explain why someone suddenly shows signs of major depression, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. I remember being shocked when I used this term in a news article and was later confronted by someone who proudly identified themselves as being “anti-psychiatry.” She told me that there is absolutely no evidence that mental illnesses are real and/or caused by biological problems inside the brain.
I soon learned that this is an ongoing argument, often a bitter one, waged between different factions in the mental health community. 
So I was happy when I was sent an advance copy of the book: SHRINK RAP: Three Psychiatrist Explain Their Work written by Dinah Miller, M.D. Annette Hanson, M.D. and Steven Roy Daviss, M.D.. Their book is being published by the Johns Hopkins University Press next month.
The doctors, who write a popular mental health blog offer their take on “chemical imbalances” and I found their comments helpful.
