Political Abuse of Psychiatry

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert van Voren ◽  
Rob Keukens
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Medical Practice ◽  
Psychiatric Diagnosis ◽  
Psychiatric Treatment ◽  
Social Activists ◽  
Totalitarian Regimes ◽  
Mental Institutions

Political abuse of psychiatry refers to the misuse of psychiatric diagnosis, treatment, and detention for the purposes of obstructing the fundamental human rights of certain individuals and groups in a given society. The practice is common to but not exclusive to countries governed by totalitarian regimes. In this chapter the question is raised as to why, in spite of the fact that in most countries medical practice takes place according to internationally accepted guidelines, there is at the same time continued evidence of cases of incarcerating dissidents in mental institutions and of social activists and/or practitioners of various religions who are subjected to psychiatric treatment. In addition, the authors analyze why in particular in mental health the ethical borders have been corrupted and which measures can be put in place to combat these excesses.

scholarly journals Disability Rights and Compulsory Psychiatric Treatment: The Case for a Balanced Approach under the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992

2021 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 221-244
Author(s):  
Toni Wharehoka
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Psychiatric Treatment ◽  
Current Approach ◽  
Disability Rights ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Balanced Approach ◽  
Assessment And Treatment ◽  
United Nations Convention

This article argues the New Zealand Government's current approach to compulsory psychiatric treatment is unjustifiable in a human rights context. Under s 59 of the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992, clinicians are empowered to administer compulsory psychiatric treatment to individuals without, or contrary to, their consent. This article analyses s 59, and its underlying justifications, in light of the New Zealand Government's commitments under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). Further, it analyses the approach for compulsory psychiatric treatment advocated by the UNCRPD in light of Aotearoa New Zealand's mental health context to evaluate whether this approach would be more desirable than the current approach under s 59. The article then advocates for a more balanced approach to compulsory psychatric treatment which puts the rights of disabled individuals at the forefront and also ensures there are limits to these rights which are justifiable within a human rights context.

Application of Inherent Dignity to the Abolition with Support Model

2021 ◽  
pp. 109-125
Author(s):  
Kay Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Health System ◽  
Mental Health System ◽  
Psychiatric Treatment ◽  
Mental Impairment ◽  
Strong Basis ◽  
Inherent Dignity ◽  
Loss Of Dignity ◽  
Support Model

This chapter argues that inherent dignity is more than an abstract concept and must be understood within its social and political context. It applies the concept of inherent dignity in the disability context and to the Abolition with Support model. I argue that dignity is relevant to mental health in two ways. First, it relates to the loss of dignity that persons with mental impairment may experience by reason of their impairment itself and secondly by the way in which persons with mental impairment have historically been treated by the mental health system and society more generally. I consider the meaning of autonomy and the tensions between the concepts of dignity and autonomy. I argue that the meaning of dignity is wider than the legal recognition of autonomy. On a balanced and holistic reading of the CRPD which gives effect to all human rights, dignity may at times be given priority over autonomy, which could provide a human rights justification for limited detention and psychiatric treatment, rather than the abolition of mental health law. Nonetheless, the loss of dignity that is caused by the mental health system must also be addressed and provides a strong basis for significant systemic and legal reform.

Human rights and the use of psychiatric medication

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 179-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lourdes Rodriguez del Barrio ◽  
Rosana Onocko Campos ◽  
Sabrina Stefanello ◽  
Deivisson Vianna Dantas dos Santos ◽  
Céline Cyr ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Psychiatric Treatment ◽  
Community Services ◽  
Joint Analysis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Formal Recognition

Purpose – Formal recognition of the human rights of people living with mental health problems has greatly progressed. We must ask ourselves, however, to what extent the formal recognition of these rights has transformed the culture of psychiatric care and improved their quality of life. Gaining Autonomy & Medication Management (GAM) is an approach that strives to empower service users and providers and promotes the exercise of users’ rights by transforming their relationship with the central component of psychiatric treatment in community services: psychopharmacology. The purpose of this paper is to show how GAM highlights the issues surrounding the establishment of a culture of rights. Design/methodology/approach – For this analysis qualitative data were collected in Brazil and in Quebec, Canada, through over 100 interviews done with people living with mental health issues and practitioners who participated in the different GAM implementation projects. Findings – Issues, challenges and obstacles facing the instauration of a human rights culture in mental health services are presented. The profound changes that the understanding and exercise of users’ rights bring to the lives of individuals are supported by excerpts illustrating recurring issues, situations and common experiences that appear in the various contexts of the two different countries. Research limitations/implications – This is not a parallel study taking place into two countries. The methodologies used were different, and as a consequence the comparative power can be limited. However, the results reveal striking similarities. Originality/value – There is scant research on human rights in mental health services in the community, and the issues surrounding the prescribing and follow-up of pharmacological treatment. The joint analysis of the researches in Brazil and in Canada, identified common challenges which are intertwined with the dominant approach of biomedical psychiatry.

The Protection of Mental Health Service Users' Human Rights in Andalusia (Spain) as part of 1 in 4 Anti-stigma Strategy

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo Garcia-Cubillana de la Cruz ◽  
Aguila bono del Trigo ◽  
Vicente Ibanez Rojo ◽  
Evelyn Huizing
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Mental Health Service ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Service Users

Monitoring human rights in mental health: the ITHACA toolkit

2011 ◽  
Vol 38 (S 01) ◽  
Author(s):  
G Thornicroft ◽  
L Burti ◽  
H Katschnig ◽  
O Lewis ◽  
D Rose ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Human Rights

Crime-Preventing Neurointerventions and the Law

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Forsberg
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Medical Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Mental Health Legislation ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Legal Regimes ◽  
Health Legislation

Anti-libidinal interventions (ALIs) are a type of crime-preventing neurointervention (CPN) already in use in many jurisdictions. This chapter examines different types of legal regimes under which ALIs might be provided to sex offenders. The types of legal regimes examined are dedicated statutes that directly provide for ALI use, consensual ALI provision under general medical law principles, mental health legislation providing for ALI use (exemplified by the mental health regime in England and Wales), and European human rights law as it pertains to ALI provision. The chapter considers what we might learn from ALIs in respect of likely or possible arrangements for the provision of other CPNs, and draws attention to some ethical issues raised by each of these types of regime, worth keeping in mind when considering arrangements for CPN provision.

scholarly journals Global mental health should engage with the ethics of involuntary admission

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marisha N. Wickremsinhe
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Clinical Ethics ◽  
Psychiatric Care ◽  
Global Mental Health ◽  
Mental Healthcare ◽  
Involuntary Admission ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Psychosocial Disability

AbstractGlobal mental health, as a field, has focused on both increasing access to mental health services and promoting human rights. Amidst many successes in engaging with and addressing various human rights violations affecting individuals living with psychosocial disabilities, one human rights challenge remains under-discussed: involuntary inpatient admission for psychiatric care. Global mental health ought to engage proactively with the debate on the ethics of involuntary admission and work to develop a clear position, for three reasons. Firstly, the field promotes models of mental healthcare that are likely to include involuntary admission. Secondly, the field aligns much of its human rights framework with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which opposes the discriminatory use of involuntary admission on the basis of psychosocial disability or impairment. Finally, global mental health, as a field, is uniquely positioned to offer novel contributions to this long-standing debate in clinical ethics by collecting data and conducting analyses across settings. Global mental health should take up involuntary admission as a priority area of engagement, applying its own orientation toward research and advocacy in order to explore the dimensions of when, if ever, involuntary admission may be permissible. Such work stands to offer meaningful contributions to the challenge of involuntary admission.

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