Awais Aftab
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awaisaftab.bsky.social
Awais Aftab
@awaisaftab.bsky.social
7.8K followers 5K following 1.2K posts

Psychiatrist with philosophical interests | Conversations in Critical Psychiatry (Oxford University Press, 2024) | Psychiatry at the Margins www.psychiatrymargins.com

Videos
Psychology 39%
Philosophy 32%
Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by Awais Aftab

aidangcw.bsky.social
Aidan Wright @aidangcw.bsky.social · 11h
Claudenfreude: the feeling you get when someone gets busted for using AI when they shouldn’t

h/t @ssweatt.bsky.social for coining it

Reposted by Awais Aftab

miriforbes.bsky.social
Miri Forbes @miriforbes.bsky.social · 11h
Just learned I've won the APA Distinguished Scientific Award for Early Career Contributions to Psychology in the area of psychopathology, and am feeling pretty delighted!! So grateful to @aidangcw.bsky.social for nominating me, and very proud of the work it's based on.

awaisaftab.bsky.social
Awais Aftab @awaisaftab.bsky.social · 2d
My periodic round-up of interesting stuff I’ve read

(And some personal media favorites from 2025)

www.psychiatrymargins.com/p/notable-li...
Notable Links (Substack Edition) - Jan 3, 2026
And some personal media favorites from 2025
www.psychiatrymargins.com

Reposted by Awais Aftab

jakubkuchar.bsky.social
Jakub Kuchař @jakubkuchar.bsky.social · 3d
I když Freud položil základy psychoanalýzy a dodnes je v psychoanalytických kruzích velmi důležitou figurou, současná psychoanalýza není pouze o něm. Akademická psychologie to bohužel nebere moc v potaz. @awaisaftab.bsky.social toto téma rozebírá v přiloženém textu.
An Intro to Freud Is Not an Intro to Contemporary Psychoanalysis
Reviewing Paul Bloom on Freud and the unconscious
www.psychiatrymargins.com

awaisaftab.bsky.social
Awais Aftab @awaisaftab.bsky.social · 6d
😢

awaisaftab.bsky.social
Awais Aftab @awaisaftab.bsky.social · 7d
It just occurred to me that this juxtaposition is almost an illustration of what Dan Oppenheimer had identified as the dynamic between the Scientist and the Survivor is his profile of me, except in this case both the Scientist and the Survivor were able to grow beyond the limitations of their roles.

awaisaftab.bsky.social
Awais Aftab @awaisaftab.bsky.social · 7d
The All of Thine That Cannot Die: Farewell to Two Friends

In memory of Dan J. Stein and Lisa Wallace

www.psychiatrymargins.com/p/the-all-of...
The All of Thine That Cannot Die: Farewell to Two Friends
In memory of Dan J. Stein and Lisa Wallace
www.psychiatrymargins.com

awaisaftab.bsky.social
Awais Aftab @awaisaftab.bsky.social · 10d
How the Citrus Cure for Scurvy Was Lost, and Lessons for the Science of Psychopathology

The copper-lined containers and the contexts that neutralize treatment

www.psychiatrymargins.com/p/how-the-ci...
How the Citrus Cure for Scurvy Was Lost, and Lessons for the Science of Psychopathology
The copper-lined containers and the contexts that neutralize treatment
www.psychiatrymargins.com

awaisaftab.bsky.social
Awais Aftab @awaisaftab.bsky.social · 13d
… but that is no excuse to tolerate imperfection, esp at this large scale of implementation, when we can easily do better. (/2)

awaisaftab.bsky.social
Awais Aftab @awaisaftab.bsky.social · 13d
I should note though: if we created a version of PHQ-9 that didn’t have these interpretation issues, it will in all likelihood still correlate very highly with the current PHQ-9. Imperfect measures can still index symptom burden and track change with meaningful utility… (/1)

awaisaftab.bsky.social
Awais Aftab @awaisaftab.bsky.social · 13d
Cool study in JAMA Psychiatry confirms what many have suspected for a while: PHQ (depression questionnaire) instructions are widely misinterpreted by patients. It is unfortunate that a questionnaire as shitty as PHQ-9 has become so ingrained & ubiquitous

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Interpretation Issues With the Patient Health Questionnaire Instructions
This survey study assesses whether responses to the Patient Health Questionnaire reflect symptom frequency and severity.
jamanetwork.com

awaisaftab.bsky.social
Awais Aftab @awaisaftab.bsky.social · 14d
Why I'm Trying Psych Meds Again
and how I've changed my mind about their critics

An excellent post by Jesse Meadows

www.sluggish.xyz/p/why-im-try...
Why I'm Trying Psych Meds Again
and how I've changed my mind about their critics
www.sluggish.xyz

awaisaftab.bsky.social
Awais Aftab @awaisaftab.bsky.social · 18d
Antipsychotic tapering appears to help long-term in a new trial but not for the obvious reason…
And considerable uncertainty remains

My discussion of the HAMLETT study by Sommer et al. (October 2025, JAMA Psychiatry)

www.psychiatrymargins.com/p/antipsycho...
Antipsychotic tapering appears to help long-term in a new trial but not for the obvious reason
And considerable uncertainty remains
www.psychiatrymargins.com

awaisaftab.bsky.social
Awais Aftab @awaisaftab.bsky.social · 21d
A review of “Conversations in Critical Psychiatry” by Daniel Cohrs for the AJP Residents’ Journal. “The field’s conceptual terrain is rich, multifaceted, and contentious; the dialogue format allows for its exploration in a way that is both thoughtful & precise”

psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10....
Conversations in Critical Psychiatry | American Journal of Psychiatry Residents' Journal
PsychiatryOnline.org is the platform for all American Psychiatric Association Publishing journals, DSM, and bestselling textbooks, as well as APA Practice Guidelines, and continuing medical education.
psychiatryonline.org

awaisaftab.bsky.social
Awais Aftab @awaisaftab.bsky.social · 22d
If you’re convinced the cure is worse than the disease, it’s awfully tempting to also convince yourself that there was never an illness in the first place. Nowhere is this impulse more evident than in debates about psychopathology.

awaisaftab.bsky.social
Awais Aftab @awaisaftab.bsky.social · 23d
Mixed Bag #25: Kinnon MacKinnon on Trans Identity and Medicine

MacKinnon explores the topic using a book, a concept, a person, an article, and a surprise item

www.psychiatrymargins.com/p/mixed-bag-...
Mixed Bag #25: Kinnon MacKinnon on Trans Identity and Medicine
a book, a concept, a person, an article, and a surprise item
www.psychiatrymargins.com

awaisaftab.bsky.social
Awais Aftab @awaisaftab.bsky.social · 25d
What Other Diagnoses Could Learn From Autism’s Diagnostic Appeal

The role of cognitive-perceptual mechanistic explanations

A response by Riva Stoudt to my autism differential diagnosis post

www.psychiatrymargins.com/p/what-other...
What Other Diagnoses Could Learn From Autism’s Diagnostic Appeal
The role of cognitive-perceptual mechanistic explanations
www.psychiatrymargins.com

Reposted by Awais Aftab

Reposted by Awais Aftab

ent3c.bsky.social
Eric Turkheimer @ent3c.bsky.social · 27d
Blog post: Within family prediction of psychopathology:
Bad prediction is bad prediction. ericturkheimer.substack.com/p/within-fam...
ericturkheimer.substack.com

awaisaftab.bsky.social
Awais Aftab @awaisaftab.bsky.social · 27d
The picture is from Oct 2023 when we presented together at ECNP in Barcelona.

awaisaftab.bsky.social
Awais Aftab @awaisaftab.bsky.social · 27d
Dan J. Stein passed away on Dec 6, 2025, after a reportedly short illness. An unexpected death, we had emailed just 2 weeks ago! He was brilliant and wise, a distinguished psychiatrist, a true intellectual, a good friend. He was really gracious to me, I owe him a lot. Rest in peace. I will miss you.
Dan Stein and I in business attire at a conference

awaisaftab.bsky.social
Awais Aftab @awaisaftab.bsky.social · 27d
I'm glad to hear that, thank you!

Reposted by Awais Aftab

mariandrnh.bsky.social
Maria Niedernhuber @mariandrnh.bsky.social · 28d
@awaisaftab.bsky.social your articles always lead to the most interesting discussions! Thank you so much for sharing

awaisaftab.bsky.social
Awais Aftab @awaisaftab.bsky.social · Dec 6
Yes, completely agree that schizotypy can be healthy, non-disordered, non-clinical, and I didn’t make it clear. The schizotypy-ASD overlap is also genuine but conceptually murky, hope to write more about it later. Thank you!

awaisaftab.bsky.social
Awais Aftab @awaisaftab.bsky.social · Dec 6
Thank you! Agree on all points.

Reposted by Awais Aftab

mariandrnh.bsky.social
Maria Niedernhuber @mariandrnh.bsky.social · Dec 6
impaired social cognition is a huge bucket of different things. i am not a clinician but it might be less about the extent and more about the *how*.
Self-other generalisation shapes social interaction and is disrupted in borderline personality disorder
Individuals with borderline personality disorder maintain rigid, distinct self-other representations, disrupting the bidirectional generalisation that underpins adaptive social learning and interpersonal trust.
elifesciences.org

Reposted by Awais Aftab

effervescentvoid.bsky.social
madelaine caritas longman @effervescentvoid.bsky.social · Dec 5
The most recent article I saw was "Social cognition deficits in borderline personality disorder: Clinical relevance" by Galvez-Merlin et al. (doi.org/10.1016/j.ps...). There's also some older work by Roepke et al. (DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2012.00195) and Preißler et al. (doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2010.00182)
doi.org

awaisaftab.bsky.social
Awais Aftab @awaisaftab.bsky.social · Dec 5
Oh, interesting. I'm not familiar with these findings. Can u point me towards something specific? In a way that's not surprising, since some degree of impaired social cognition is probably quite common across mental health conditions. I would be surprised if the degree of impairment is close to ASD

awaisaftab.bsky.social
Awais Aftab @awaisaftab.bsky.social · Dec 5
Autism’s Confusing Cousins

A differential diagnosis for the weird and the awkward

www.psychiatrymargins.com/p/autisms-co...
Autism’s Confusing Cousins
A differential diagnosis for the weird and the awkward
www.psychiatrymargins.com

awaisaftab.bsky.social
Awais Aftab @awaisaftab.bsky.social · Dec 1
Congratulations! 👏