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    The identity of psychiatry and the challenge of mad activism: rethinking the clinical encounter

    Rashed, Mohammed Abouelleil (2020) The identity of psychiatry and the challenge of mad activism: rethinking the clinical encounter. Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 45 (6), pp. 598-622. ISSN 0360-5310.

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    Abstract

    Modern medical specialities, including psychiatry, operate through the notion of hypostatic abstraction: doctors treat conditions or disorders, which are conceived of as 'things' that people 'have'. Mad activism rejects this notion and hence challenges psychiatry's identity as a medical speciality. This paper develops the hypostatic abstraction as applied to medicine and describes the challenge of Mad activism. In order for psychiatry to maintain its identity as a medical speciality while also responding to the challenge of Mad activism, it needs to limit the reach of this identity by restricting the operation of the hypostatic abstraction to those who consider themselves to have a condition. At the same time, it needs to develop an additional conception of the clinical encounter to be able to respond to individuals who reject the hypostatic abstraction and regard their experiences as part of their identity. The concepts of secondary insight and identity-making become central to the clinical encounter.

    Metadata

    Item Type: Article
    Keyword(s) / Subject(s): Hypostatic Abstraction, Mad Activism, Mad Pride, Secondary Insight, Identity-Making, Primary Insight, Symptom Control, Clinical Encounter, Mental Health Activism, Madness
    School: Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Historical Studies
    Depositing User: Mohammed Rashed
    Date Deposited: 08 Jan 2021 13:17
    Last Modified: 02 Aug 2023 17:54
    URI: https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/29297

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