Law, Liberty and Psychiatry: An Inquiry into the Social Uses of Mental Health Practices

by Thomas Szasz (Author)

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ISBN-13: 978-0815602422

ISBN-10: 0815602421

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Dr. Thomas Szasz on the shortcomings of commitment procedures, and the inadequacies of protections afforded patients in psychiatric institutions. He alerts us to the existing and potential abuses of human rights in mental health programs and procedures.

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Syracuse University Press (October 1, 1989)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0815602421
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0815602422
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.25 x 0.82 x 8.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,026,223 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #141 in Mental Health Law (Books)
- #280 in Health Law (Books)
- #842 in Psychiatry (Books)

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11 ratings

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Thomas Stephen Szasz

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Brian Koontz

poorly done. poorly thought out

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 23, 2015

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The book was so poorly put together with some pages reading vertical and other horizontal. I've always suspected Thomas Szasz to be a loon. If this poorly presented mishmash is an example. I tried to refuse download of the book and got it anyway. What a mess!

One person found this helpful

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H.E.A.J. Braat

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 30, 2014

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Probably the best book by Thomas Szasz.

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ONE OF THE EARLIER CRITIQUES BY A PROMINENT CRITIC OF PSYCHIATRY

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 11, 2010

Thomas Szasz (born 1920) is Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at the State University of New York Health Science Center. He is a well-known critic of psychiatry, of the social role of medicine in modern society, and is a social libertarian.

In the Preface to this 1963 book, Szasz writes, "Psychiatric activity is medical in name only. For the most part, psychiatrists are engaged in attempts to change the behavior and values of individuals, groups, institutions, and sometimes even of nations. Hence, psychiatry is a form of social engineering. It should be recognized as such... The present book has two major aims: first, to present a critical inquiry into the current social, and especially legal, uses of psychiatry; second, to offer a reasoned dissent from what I consider the theory and practice of false psychiatric liberalism. Most of the legal and social applications of psychiatry, undertaken in the name of psychiatric liberalism, are actually instances of despotism."

(Interestingly, he states in the 1989 Preface to the Second Edition of the book, "why---I am often asked---did I enter psychiatric and psychoanalytical training? I did so for two reasons: because I wanted to practice psychotherapy, and because I wanted to see if I could mount a successful critique of the fundamental principles and practices of psychiatry.")

Here are some representative quotations from the book:

"(T)he relationship between the mental hospital and its inmates is suffused with dishonesty and deceit. Usually, the patient is not told the true reason for his detainment. Nor is he given explicit directions about the way he must behave. Finally, his discharge is not predicated upon objective criteria, such as confinement for a given period of time. It depends instead upon the judgment by the staff of a transformation of his personality."
"Let us recall that Freud, Jung and Adler treated only consenting patients. They refused to inflict therapy on people who did not want it. This is true also for most of the best known contemporary psychotherapists."
"My objections to many current practices ... rest on a fundamental proposition: We should value liberty more highly than mental health, no matter how defined."

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jcpav

Font way too small!!!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 7, 2016

I love Thomas Szasz but unfortunately this ebook was very hard to read! Not because I could not understand it but because the print/font was so small I needed a magnifying glass to read it!
I tried changing the font but it would not change so it was frustrating!

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Hannah

Great

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 18, 2022

Verified Purchase

Good read

One person found this helpful

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Law, Liberty and Psychiatry: An Inquiry into the Social Uses of Mental Health Practices

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Law, Liberty and Psychiatry: An Inquiry into the Social Uses of Mental Health Practices

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