The Age of Diagnosis by Suzanne O’Sullivan
10 May 2026
· 2pm
The Linbury Room, Dulwich Picture Gallery, SE21 7AD
From autism to allergies, ADHD to long Covid, more people are being labelled with medical conditions than ever before. Join best-selling author Dr Suzanne O’Sullivan discussing whether a diagnosis can do us more harm than good. The boundaries between sickness and health are being redrawn. Mental health categories are shifting and expanding all the time, radically altering what we consider ...
Tickets £13.50 (plus booking fee)

From autism to allergies, ADHD to long Covid, more people are being labelled with medical conditions than ever before. Join best-selling author Dr Suzanne O’Sullivan discussing whether a diagnosis can do us more harm than good.
The boundaries between sickness and health are being redrawn. Mental health categories are shifting and expanding all the time, radically altering what we consider to be ‘normal’. Genetic tests can now detect pathologies decades before people experience symptoms, and sometimes before they’re even born. And increased health screening draws more and more people into believing they are unwell.
An accurate diagnosis can bring greater understanding and of course improved treatment. But many diagnoses aren’t as definitive as we think. And in some cases they risk turning healthy people into patients.
Drawing on the stories of real people, as well as decades of clinical practice and the latest medical research, Dr Suzanne O’Sullivan overturns long held assumptions and reframes how we think about illness and health.
