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The explicitly stated rationale for the involuntary commitment of the mentally ill given by the nineteenth-century German-speaking psychiatrists

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

George Windholz
George Windholz*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, NC, USA
*
1Address for correspondence:Dr George Windholz, Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA
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Synopsis

The contemporary practice of involuntary commitment to psychiatric institutions of individuals diagnosed as mentally ill is based upon practices established by psychiatrists in the nineteenth century. The justifications given by nineteenth-century German-speaking psychiatrists for involuntary commitment are considered. An examination of sixty-seven texts by German-speaking psychiatrists reveals that involuntary commitment was justified more often as benefiting the mentally ill individual than as benefiting society. Justification for involuntary commitment was made somewhat more frequently during the second part of the nineteenth century than during the first part

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 17 , Issue 2 , May 1987 , pp. 291 - 295
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1987

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