“The Almost Effect” books are a series of books that were created by psychiatrists at Harvard Medical School.  The first Book in the series was released in 2012.  “The Almost Effect” reflects a shift in the dichotomous thinking that has plagued the mental health field for a long time, that you either have a mental illness or you don’t.  It’s a black and white, almost artificial construct, with no allowance for the many shades of grey between health and illness.

“The Almost Effect” places human behavior on a continuum or spectrum, and acknowledges that while certain behaviors or patterns may fall short of meeting official diagnostic criteria, they may still be dysfunctional.   In other words, just because something isn’t diagnosable doesn’t mean that it’s not a problem. It might easily become a clinically significant problem, or even if it doesn’t, it can still cause the person suffering with it (or their loved ones) a great deal of distress.  These are the people this book series is designed to help.

Books in this series, listed in order of their publication date, include:

Almost Alcoholic: Is My (or My Loved One’s) Drinking a Problem? by Joseph Nowinski, PhD and Robert Doyle, MD

Almost a Psychopath: Do I (or Does Someone I Know) Have a Problem with Manipulation and Lack of Empathy?  by Ronald Schouten, MD, JD, and James Silver, JD

Almost Anorexic: Is My (or My Loved One’s) Relationship with Food a Problem? by Jennifer J. Thomas Ph.D. and Jenni Schaefer

Almost Depressed: Is My (or My Loved One’s) Unhappiness a Problem? by Jefferson Prince, MD and Shelley Carson, PhD

Almost Anxious: Is My (or My Loved One’s Worry or Distress a Problem? by Luana Marques, PhD, and Eric Metcalf, MPH

Almost Addicted: Is My (or My Loved One’s) Drug Use a Problem? by J. Wesley Boyd, MD, PhD, and Eric Metcalf, MPH