Madness and society

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Ian Cummins
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Social Control ◽  
Mental Distress ◽  
Social Models ◽  
Historical Perspectives ◽  
Institutional Responses ◽  
Distinct Branch

This chapter examines a range of historical perspectives. It outlines the development of psychiatry as distinct branch of medicine. It highlights the development of institutional responses to mental distress that resulted in the segregation and exclusion of individuals. The chapter considers medical and social models of mental illness as well radical criticisms of the power of the psychiatry as an agent of social control

Mental Health Social Work Reimagined

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Cummins
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Mental Distress ◽  
Community Care ◽  
Current Crisis ◽  
Social Work Values ◽  
Historical Perspectives ◽  
Insight Into

This book argues that mental health social work needs to be located within the wider political and social policy landscape. Wider societal attitudes to mental illness are examined followed by a discussion of the development of community care. The author argues that these historical perspectives provide an insight into the roots of the current crisis in mental health services. The book goes on to analyse a range of contemporary issues and challenges in mental health social work. It argues that social inequality and policies of austerity have increased levels of mental distress. It calls for a rediscovery of core social work values and a rejection of bureaucratic managerialism.

Review of The Social Control of Mental Illness.

1982 ◽  
Vol 27 (12) ◽  
pp. 1002-1002
Author(s):  
No authorship indicated
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Social Control ◽  
The Social

scholarly journals Therapeutic Social Control of People with Serious Mental Illness: An Empirical Verification and Extension of Theory

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 108-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brea L. Perry ◽  
Emma Frieh ◽  
Eric R. Wright
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Social Control ◽  
Serious Mental Illness ◽  
Mental Health Treatment ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Ethical Challenges ◽  
Therapeutic Goals ◽  
Contraception Use ◽  
Client Behavior

Mental health services and psychiatric professional values have shifted in the past several decades toward a model of client autonomy and informed consent, at least in principle. However, it is unclear how much has changed in practice, particularly in cases where client behavior poses ethical challenges for clinicians. Drawing on the case of clients’ sexual behavior and contraception use, we examine whether sociological theories of “soft” coercion remain relevant (e.g., therapeutic social control; Horwitz 1982) in contemporary mental health treatment settings. Using structured interview data from 98 men and women with serious mental illness (SMI), we explore client experiences of choice, coercion, and the spaces that lie in between. Patterns in our data confirm Horwitz’s (1982) theory of therapeutic social control but also suggest directions for updating and extending it. Specifically, we identify four strategies used to influence client behavior: coercion, enabling, education, and conciliation. We find that most clients’ experiences reflect elements of ambiguous or limited autonomy, wherein compliance is achieved by invoking therapeutic goals. However, women with SMI disproportionately report experiencing intense persuasion and direct use or threat of force. We argue that it is critical to consider how ostensibly noncoercive and value-free interventions nonetheless reflect the goals and norms of dominant groups.

The Social Control of Mental Illness.

1983 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 558
Author(s):  
Michael S. Goldstein ◽  
Allan V. Horwitz
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Social Control ◽  
The Social
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