Jerome C. Wakefield

About the Author

Jerome C. Wakefield is a distinguished professor of social work and psychiatry at New York University, where he has spent decades exploring the intersections of psychology, philosophy, and mental health policy. With a PhD in philosophy and extensive clinical experience, Wakefield critiques the expansion of psychiatric diagnoses in modern society, arguing that cultural and scientific shifts have pathologized natural human emotions. His seminal work, The Loss of Sadness: How Psychiatry Transformed Normal Sorrow into Depressive Disorder, co-authored with Allen Frances, challenges the medicalization of grief and advocates for a more nuanced understanding of emotional distress. Wakefield's research has influenced debates on diagnostic criteria in the DSM and continues to shape discussions on the boundaries between normality and disorder in mental health.