Critical Psychiatry by Ian Cummins

Author:Ian Cummins [Cummins, Ian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Social Work, Education, Higher
ISBN: 9781911106630
Google: F5CCDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Critical Publishing
Published: 2017-09-04T05:50:21+00:00

In this and later work, we can see elements of his attack on what Furedi among others have termed our “therapy” or “victim” culture. This is premised on the notion that the medicalisation of deviance has created an environment where we are all “victims” or at least can claim to be so in an attempt to avoid any responsibility for our actions. Szasz argues that in this schema, the impact of early childhood experiences – for example such as being subject to abuse – are exaggerated. They become a destiny for the lives of adults. Szasz suggests that this actually serves to undermine or underestimate the resilience and strength of individuals and communities.

Szasz is a fierce defender of the free market. He goes on to link this to his arguments against the current structure and provision of mental health services. This aspect of his work seems to be largely overlooked. I argue that it is a vital element in his thought, just as in the same way it is impossible to understand Laing if we do not consider his views on the nature of capitalist society. Szasz is a neo-liberal in that he believes in the primacy of the free market. The free market is seen not only as the most effective means of distributing resources but also as the means of guaranteeing liberty. He sees the ways in which current medicine, not necessarily just psychiatric medicine, is an infringement of liberty. As choice is a key value, he argues that individuals should be allowed to exercise choice in a whole range of areas – for example, in personal drugs. One of the leitmotifs in his criticism of psychiatrists is to describe them as legalised drug dealers. Following Higgs (1987), Szasz argues that the expansion of the state occurs at times of national emergency and crises – World War II being a prime example. However, the new powers that the state assumes are not relinquished. It is further argued that as the state increases in role and size, it becomes increasingly autonomous. This means that it becomes more and more difficult for citizens to control. This is a classic libertarian argument against so-called “big government”, which Szasz applies to psychiatry. One can see the attraction of this element to many who see and experience psychiatry at its most coercive. Szasz concludes that there needed to be a formal separation of the state and medicine in the same way as between Church and state under the US constitution.

As noted above, Szasz was very concerned about the status of the mentally ill. However, it is a concern not based on their experiences as a marginalised, or effectively at that time in the USA, disenfranchised group. His concerns were focused on moral and legal issues. These can be divided into two areas – compulsory treatment, civil commitment in Szasz’s terms and the use of mental illness as mitigation in criminal matters. In the area of compulsory treatment, he objects on two grounds. The

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