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After calling psychiatry a "pseudo-science," Cruise went on to tell Lauer: "Here's the problem. You don't know the history of psychiatry. I do. There's no such thing as a chemical imbalance. ... You don't even know what Ritalin is. ... You should be a bit more responsible in knowing what it is because you communicate to people."
The testy exchange happened after Lauer asked Cruise about his criticism of Brooke Shields, who praised medication and psychotherapy for helping her battle postpartum depression.
Cruise also labeled Ritalin, which is used to treat children for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, a "street drug."
On behalf of the 36,000-physician-strong APA, the group's president, Dr. Steven Sharfstein, said in a statement: "It is irresponsible for Mr. Cruise to use his movie publicity tour to promote his own ideological views and deter people with mental illness from getting the care they need."
The rebuke from the APA went on to challenge Cruise's assertion that psychiatry lacks scientific merit.
"Rigorous, published, peer-reviewed research clearly demonstrates that treatment (of mental illness) works," the APA statement said. "It is unfortunate that in the face of this remarkable scientific and clinical progress that a small number of individuals and groups persist in questioning its legitimacy."
