Psychiatry and racism:
has a history of being racist mostly follows the Wester biomedical and pharmaceutical way of
diagnosis and treatment. Oblivious to perspectives.
It rations resources based on diagnosis and severity of symptoms and responds thru medication and
management of it instead of looking on social support and responses.--> revolving door analogy in that
its short admissions and discharge. Short term treatments. Pg.241
Even alternative supports, housing or income, are linked to psychiatric diagnosis severity and crisis. So it
is temporary and “getting well” could risk the individual form losing these supports.
Psychiatric foundations has been implications for justification of slavery and advancement of
dehumanizing racist discourse pg. 241. This is even present today, as black men are over admitted and
detained than white men thus are over-represented in presence in mental health distress in criminal
justice system
Thinking that immigrants have to only rely on psychiatric based mental health services, and that SW
should learn about differences in culture/develop cultural competence to address kinds of racist issues
within may only perpetuate racism itself. because it institutional racisms o it’s already ingrained
Colonization and madness:
Mad studies perspective- calls for transformation in mental health services. It studies the history of
people deemed to be “mad”, and the historical oppression and discrimination toward mad people in
analyzed from the points of view of people receiving end of these treatments that had led to physical
and mental suffering of so many people throughout history. Thru these they challenge the history of
psychiatry. It documents the advocacy that have existed alongside these practices of oppression.
Pg. 242
Ex w/ Abba’s family Their experienced w/ systemic and structural racism has been psychiatrized (thru
a biomedical way) as a illness needed to be treated with medications and psychotherapies. It silences
their experiences of system designed to control immigrants and racialized groups.
Some stated that this perspective lacks attentions on issues of race related to colonization. Certain
professions connect w/ colonialism/imperialism helped create idea of desirable and undesirable citizens
racialized people are viewed to be prone more to illness
Colonialism brought rise to wester biomedical psychiatry, and that human experiences (emotional
distress, problems of living) are biological disorders in the brain that can be treated by meds.
Pg. 434- colonical psychiatry was forged upon idead of africna inferiority. They were used as tools to
justify slavery and other oppressive actions.
Renouncing the master’s tool:
Madness perspective and attention to colonization can be important for AOP (anti-oppressive practice)
While some people benefit with medications, other will respond well to changed in their social
situations.
Pg. 246
Pg. 247 AOP in these example doesn’t automatically assume that immigrant people facing challenges
need medication and more psychiatric services, but rather holistic supports, community involvement,
and opporutnities to participate fully in society.
It challenges ideas that imigrants are more prone to mental illness and instead supports a system that
views them as lacking in terms of opporutnies for affirming educaton, fair employment, language
training, and a recognition of exisiting abilites and resiliency.
Developing a critical social justice practice pertaining to mental health services avoids the systemtic
racism in this field, avoid individualizte and pathologizing human experience, and viewing people are
defective/inferiorn
