Jay Joseph - Why Schizophrenia Genetic Research is Running on Empty

Jay Joseph - Why Schizophrenia Genetic Research is Running on Empty

This week on MIA Radio we interview Dr Jay Joseph. Dr Joseph is a clinical psychologist and author who brings a critical perspective to claims in the media and the academic literature that disordered genes underlie psychiatric disorders.

His most recent books are The Trouble with Twin Studies: A Reassessment of Twin Research in the Social and Behavioral Sciences and the 2017 e-book Schizophrenia and Genetics: The End of an Illusion.

In this interview, we discuss the evidence that psychiatry puts forward in support of the claim that mental disorders have an important genetic basis and the reasons why psychiatry is still searching after many decades of failed attempts.

In the episode we discuss:
  • How Dr Joseph, as a clinical psychologist, came to be interested in the validity of the diagnosis of schizophrenia.
  • How he then became interested in the assertions by psychiatry that diagnoses such as schizophrenia had a genetic basis.
  • That he discovered that the evidence for genetic factors underlying major psychiatric disorders is very weak and based mainly on twin and adoption studies.
  • That, despite decades of work, there have been few if any discoveries of disordered genes that cause the major psychiatric disorders.
  • How twin and adoption studies are used to try and demonstrate the relationship between genetics and mental disorders.
  • That people are being told that their mental illness is genetically based which is not supported by evidence and it is rather like the chemical imbalance myth in this regard.
  • That a disorder or condition 'running in the family' means that it is 'genetic' is also a common misconception.
  • That psychiatry seems to be focused on finding the 'cause' of mental disorders within the body, rather than acknowledging that social and environmental factors are the main causes of trauma, distress, and psychological dysfunction.
Relevant links:

Dr Jay Joseph

Schizophrenia and Genetics: The End of an Illusion

Bias and Deception in Behavioral Research

Schizophrenia Genetic Research – Running on Empty

To get in touch with us email: podcasts@madinamerica.com

© Mad in America 2017

Episoder(293)

Psychiatric Drugs: The Real World is Where the Harms Live

Psychiatric Drugs: The Real World is Where the Harms Live

Joining us for a roundtable discussion are Brooke Siem, David Antonuccio, Kim Witzak, Angie Peacock and David Healy. They discuss the challenges of openly discussing psychiatric drug withdrawal, the t...

29 Okt 202545min

Medical Organizations Turn Blind Eye to Harms of Maternal Antidepressant Use: A Conversation With Adam Urato and Joanna Moncrieff

Medical Organizations Turn Blind Eye to Harms of Maternal Antidepressant Use: A Conversation With Adam Urato and Joanna Moncrieff

On July 21st 2025, the FDA convened a hearing on maternal use of antidepressants during pregnancy and the impact this use has on fetal development. Around 400,000 children in the United States are bor...

8 Okt 202548min

Psychotherapy, Spirituality, and Democratic Socialism: A Conversation with Frank Gruba-McCallister

Psychotherapy, Spirituality, and Democratic Socialism: A Conversation with Frank Gruba-McCallister

Frank Gruba-McCallister is a clinical psychologist, educator, and scholar whose career spans more than three decades of teaching and academic leadership. He served as Vice President of Academic Affai...

24 Sep 202544min

Science Under Pressure, Humanity at Stake: An Interview with John Ioannidis

Science Under Pressure, Humanity at Stake: An Interview with John Ioannidis

John Ioannidis is a Stanford professor, a physician, and one of the most eminent scholars in the world in the field of evidence-based medicine. Ioannidis has spent his career exposing the weak foundat...

10 Sep 202551min

Therapy in the Age of Abandonment: A Conversation with Psychological Anthropologist Talia Weiner

Therapy in the Age of Abandonment: A Conversation with Psychological Anthropologist Talia Weiner

Talia Weiner is a psychological anthropologist, licensed professional counselor, and assistant professor of psychology at the University of West Georgia. As a medical and psychological anthropologist,...

3 Sep 202537min

How to be a Critical Psychologist Without Losing Your Soul: A Conversation With Zenobia Morrill, José Giovanni Luiggi-Hernández and Justin Karter

How to be a Critical Psychologist Without Losing Your Soul: A Conversation With Zenobia Morrill, José Giovanni Luiggi-Hernández and Justin Karter

On the Mad in America podcast this week, we explore the importance of raising awareness of psychological approaches that challenge mainstream perspectives. Joining us today are three people who are pr...

13 Aug 202545min

Is Dialogue the Best Medicine? A Conversation With Jaakko Seikkula

Is Dialogue the Best Medicine? A Conversation With Jaakko Seikkula

Welcome to MIA Radio. Today, we are pleased to have as our guest Jaakko Seikkula. Jaakko is a psychologist who helped develop the Open Dialogue practice at Keropudas Hospital in Tornio, Finland, in th...

30 Jul 202545min

"I Made it Through the Horrors of Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal" A Conversation with Comedian Dex Carrington

"I Made it Through the Horrors of Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal" A Conversation with Comedian Dex Carrington

Jørgen Kjønø, whose stage name is Dex Carrington, is a Norwegian-American stand-up comedian based in Oslo, Norway. He is also an actor, host of the Truth Train podcast, and former travel show host who...

9 Jul 202542min

Populært innen Helse

fastlegen
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
rss-gukild-johaug
hvordan-har-du-det-mann
psykodrama
relasjonspodden-med-dora-thorhallsdottir-kjersti-idem
leger-om-livet
rss-garne-damer
foreldreradet
bak-fasaden-en-reise-i-livet-med-sykepleier-ine
hormonelle-frida
hjernesterk
g-punktet
rss-lopedrommen
morten-ramm-lar-kakla-ga-til-du-sovner
klimaks
biohacking-girls-din-podcast-for-optimal-helse
helsetipspodden
treningsprat
sinnsyn