After Growing Up in the Shadow of Mental Health Stigma, A Career of Research in ADHD is Born

In this interview, Steve discusses his path to working in the field of mental health after growing up in a family where his father suffered from misdiagnosed bipolar disorder, but it was never discussed due to doctor's orders. He discusses his book about growing up in silence and stigma, "Another Kind of Madness: A Journey Through the Stigma and Hope of Mental Illness", and his interest in working to overcome mental stigma. We discuss his research on ADHD, and how the MTA study was one of the largest studies looking at medication and treatment. We discuss the behavioral interventions that are helpful to children and families where ADHD is present. Additionally we also explored his work in the book, the "ADHD Explosion: Myths, Medications, Money, and Today's Push for Performance", and the issues of under and over-diagnosis of ADHD. This also leads into the conversation about ADHD and gender, and Steve discusses his research in the BGALS study, looking at how ADHD appears in girls and women, and the longitudinal research. Finally, Steve talks about his work with programs to run stigma reduction groups in high school, when beliefs are being developed, and having speakers series and other method to address stigma in a real world way, and his work with Bring Change to Mind. Stephen Hinshaw, Ph.D. is known for his work in developmental psychopathology, clinical interventions with children and adolescents, and mental illness stigma. He is currently a Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Berkley and the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Hinshaw has authored over 370 articles and chapters as well as 12 books, including, Another Kind of Madness: A Journey through the Stigma and Hope of Mental Illness , The Triple Bind: Saving our Teenage Girls from Today’s Pressures with R. Scheffler, and The ADHD Explosion: Myths, Medications, Money, and Today’s Push for Performance. Dr. Hinshaw’s research efforts have been recognized by many awards including the James McKeen Cattell Award from the Association for Psychological Science (2016) which is the highest award to honor a lifetime of outstanding contributions to applied psychological research.