Controversies about psychiatry

Psychiatry is, and has historically been, viewed as controversial by those under its care, as well as sociologists and psychiatrists themselves. There are a variety of reasons cited for this controversy, including the subjectivity of diagnosis,[1] the use of diagnosis and treatment for social and political control including detaining citizens and treating them without consent,[2] the side effects of treatments such as electroconvulsive therapy,[3] antipsychotics[4] and historical procedures like the lobotomy[5]: 28  and other forms of psychosurgery[5] or insulin shock therapy,[6] and the history of racism within the profession in the United States.

In addition, there are a number of groups who are either critical towards psychiatry or entirely hostile to the field. The Critical Psychiatry Network is a group of psychiatrists who are critical of psychiatry. Additionally, there are self-described psychiatric survivor groups such as MindFreedom International and religious groups such as Scientologists that are critical towards psychiatry.

  1. ^ Frances A (6 August 2013). "The new crisis of confidence in psychiatric diagnosis". Annals of Internal Medicine. 159 (2): 221–222. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-159-3-201308060-00655. PMID 23685989.
  2. ^ Moncrieff, Joanna (2010-11-01). "Psychiatric diagnosis as a political device". Social Theory & Health. 8 (4): 370–382. doi:10.1057/sth.2009.11. ISSN 1477-822X. S2CID 14758899.
  3. ^ Shorter, Edward; Healy, David (2007). "8". Shock Therapy: A History of Electroconvulsive Treatment in Mental Illness. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0-8135-4169-3.
  4. ^ Moncrieff, J. (2013-09-15). The Bitterest Pills: The Troubling Story of Antipsychotic Drugs. Springer. p. 132. ISBN 978-1-137-27744-2.
  5. ^ a b Lévêque, Marc (2016-09-03). Psychosurgery: New Techniques for Brain Disorders. Springer International Publishing. ISBN 978-3-319-34595-6.
  6. ^ Doroshow, Deborah Blythe (2007). "Performing a cure for schizophrenia: insulin coma therapy on the wards". Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences. 62 (2): 213–243. doi:10.1093/jhmas/jrl044. ISSN 0022-5045. PMID 17105748.