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The convenient myth of Thomas Szasz
Author(s) -
BUCHANANBARKER P.,
BARKER P.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of psychiatric and mental health nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.69
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1365-2850
pISSN - 1351-0126
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2850.2008.01310.x
Subject(s) - paternalism , autonomy , context (archaeology) , mental health , mental illness , mythology , psychology , state (computer science) , sociology , criminology , psychiatry , political science , law , history , computer science , classics , archaeology , algorithm
Thomas Szasz's original critique of the concept of ‘mental illness’ is almost 50 years old. Over that half century Szasz has maintained a consistent campaign against the ‘Therapeutic State’, challenging the paternalism of coercive psychiatry and defending liberty and autonomy. Despite his widespread celebrity Szasz continues to be misread and misrepresented. In this paper we review some of Szasz's key ideas, in the light of Clarke's recent critique, setting this within the context of ‘mental health nursing’ and the problems in living affecting persons worldwide.