Psychiatry
Psychiatry[a] is a medical discipline that studies the causes and essence of mental illness, their manifestations, the course, methods of their treatment and prevention, and the system of organization of assistance to patients. The main method of psychiatry is clinical research. In addition, modern Psychiatry uses neurophysiological, biochemical, immunological, genetic, psychological, epidemiological, and other methods.[2]
Under capitalism, psychiatry is distorted and otherwise abused to comply with the demands of the private pharmaceutical industry and chauvinistic cultural practices.[3]
Political abuse
United States
In the United States during the 20th century, excessive diagnoses of schizophrenia were given to women who did not comply with the patriarchal social expectations of the time. Similarly, during the civil rights movement, Black Americans were disproportionally diagnosed with mental illnesses, their desire for equality being perceived as "delusions".[4]
References
- ↑ "psychiatry", English etymology. Wiktionary
- ↑ "Psychiatry". Great Soviet Encyclopedia.
- ↑ Benedict Carey and Gardiner Harris (July 12, 2008). "Psychiatric Group Faces Scrutiny Over Drug Industry Ties". The New Work Times. Retrieved May 31, 2025. Archived from the original.
- ↑ Christopher Lane (May 5, 2010). "How Schizophrenia Became a Black Disease: An Interview With Jonathan Metzl". Psychology Today. Retrieved May 31, 2025.