Lex Fridman Podcast · Thursday, September 17, 2026
Andrew Solomon highlights that psychiatric interventions, including both psychotropic drugs and psychotherapeutic methods, can lead to unintended consequences known as iatrogenic problems. He stresses the importance of understanding both the progress made in treating mental illness and the limitations, as well as the potential for new issues to arise from the treatments themselves.
“And also to understand that when we treat something, we often create new problems. What we call iatrogenic problems, things caused by the intervention that we use.”
“That's true of both psychotropic drugs and arguably, yes, of the interventions that we use.”