The orthodox mental health industry is a form of social and moral control and not a true medical system. It has created the 'myth of mental illness' that fools people into believing common and adaptive human reactions to emotional pain are illnesses or otherwise signs of personal dysfunction. This critique is not new. It arose six decades ago at a time when psychiatry was embracing the biology of human distress and the use of mind-altering drugs to numb that distress. However, this shift in mainstream psychiatry's focus was not based on science. Instead, it was based on the industry's flailing attempt to present itself as a legitimate medical specialty. Yet, despite the many ways over the ensuing years that professionals, academicians, and activists have described this myth and its dangers, traditional psychiatry has become an even more powerful force and a threat to human freedom and dignity. Smoke and Mirrors explains why nothing has changed and it offers a humane alternative to the
