Coercion as Cure

Taylor & Francis

Coercion as CureA Critical History of Psychiatry\nAuthor(s): Thomas Szasz\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd, United Kingdom\nImprint: Routledge\nISBN-13: 9781138520714, 978-1138520714\nSynopsis\nUnderstanding the history of psychiatry requires an accurate view of its function and purpose. In this provocative new study, Szasz challenges conventional beliefs about psychiatry. He asserts that, in fact, psychiatrists are not concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of bona fide illnesses. Psychiatric tradition, social expectation, and the law make it clear that coercion is the profession's determining characteristic.\n\nPsychiatrists may \""diagnose\"" or \""treat\"" people without their consent or even against their clearly expressed wishes, and these involuntary psychiatric interventions are as different as are sexual relations between consenting adults and the sexual violence we call \""rape.\"" But the point is not merely the difference between coerced and consensual.