Experts blast growing trend of ‘coercive psychiatry’ where people are pharmacologically imprisoned without evidence or trial

‘Psychiatry is an ancient phenomenon with an invasive and brutal history. In the past, the mentally ill were strapped to their beds and doctors performed lobotomies and electroconvulsive therapy in the hope to improve a patient’s mental state. As asylums closed in the 1970s and 1980s, old brutal practices and the use of coercion in psychiatry were abandoned. Therefore, psychiatry is now thought to be a benign medical practice to help the mentally ill.
Though at some point in history the focus shifted towards care rather than custody, an editorial, published earlier this year in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), revealed disturbing trends in coercive practices in today’s mental health system.
While there will always be situations where intervention and coercion are inevitable to protect the life of the patient or their relatives, they are often unnecessary. Nonetheless, these ancient practices are once again becoming routine in our modern mental health care system.
Today, an increasing number of mental health professionals see coercion as an essential tool, giving rise to new types of secure mental health facilities that replicate some of the inhumane and unethical practices of old asylums.’
Read more: Experts blast growing trend of ‘coercive psychiatry’ where people are pharmacologically imprisoned without evidence or trial