Radical Psychiatry: An Examination of the Issues
JOHN A. TALBOTT M.D.1
1 Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, and Director of Education and Training and Deputy Director, Meyer-Manhattan Psychiatric Hospital
Articles that appeared in the Radical Therapist, an "alternate journal" in the mental health field that published 12 issues between 1970 and 1972, voiced pointed criticisms of psychiatrists during this period: little interest was paid to these issues in "establishment" publications. The author seeks to remedy this inattention by discussing power politics in the mental health field, the coopting of the community psychiatry movement, the psychiatric oppression of minority groups, and the rights of patients. The discussion points out the naïveté of the radicals' position, as well as noting the usefulness of their role, particularly in provoking closer examination of established positions.
