What separates normal from abnormal, and who gets to decide? Armand DiMele, joined by Lisa Arnone, LCSW, and social work student John Valerio, teaches therapists-in-training how to read the spectrum from too much to too little, using Carl Menninger’s framework and the hyper-hypo model to map human behavior.
Every behavior we label dysfunctional serves a hidden purpose. Armand DiMele argues that depression, addiction, paranoia, and even passivity are forms of power, and that befriending these parts of ourselves rather than fighting them is what actually enables change. Lisa Arnone, LCSW joins the conversation alongside callers working through these ideas in real time.
Armand DiMele breaks down what ‘crazy’ actually means, separating neurotic repetition (doing the same thing and expecting different results) from chemical and psychological states where a person loses touch with themselves entirely. He traces how fear of danger drives paranoia, withdrawal, and self-destruction.
