THE REIGN OF ERROR: Psychiatry, Authority, and the Law

by ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 1984

My experience as a psychiatrist tells me that psychiatry should be stripped of its state-given powers""--the power to commit people to mental hospitals, the power to send accused criminals to mental institutions, the power to declare prison inmates ""dangerous"" or not. Why has Coleman reached these conclusions? ""First, psychiatrists do not have the tools society thinks they have"": the supposed tests to determine true feelings and predict antisocial tendencies do not work. ""Second, problems associated with psychiatric power are really ethical and political"": psychiatrists are working for the community, not for the patient, in such cases. And fundamentally, psychiatry is an ""art,"" not a ""science""--and doesn't deserve the confidence placed in it by the system. Dr. Coleman, in fact, has testified in over 150 trials during the past decade, trying to convince judges and juries to ignore ""expert"" psychiatric testimony and simply look at the facts. Here, then, he draws on some of those cases and those from the public record. He briefly reviews the ""insanity defense"" history; like David Abrahamsen (The Mind of the Accused, 1983), he recounts stories of its misapplication--and argues for its abolition. Likewise, the ""diminished capacity"" defense substitutes ""psychiatric guesswork"" for real evidence. Coleman goes further than most, however, in calling for a ban on all psychiatric testimony--including that relating to competence to stand trial. And finally, on less distinctive ground, Coleman reviews the sins of the psychiatric establishment with non-criminal patients as well as accused felons: the horrors of shock treatment; the proliferation of drugs (with corporate pressurings); the sometimes-dreadful side effects; the unfair, illogical rules of involuntary commitment (Coleman would abolish it entirely); and the particular problems related to juvenile patients/offenders. Disturbing particulars, half-persuasive arguments (Coleman only superficially addresses the consequences of his recommendations)--but a useful addition to a perennial controversy.

Pub Date: May 1, 1984

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Beacon

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1984

Categories: NONFICTION