Abstract
The issue of power has become increasingly important within psychiatry,
psychotherapy and mental health nursing generally. This paper will
suggest that the work of Michel Foucault, the French philosopher and
historian, has much to contribute to the discussion about the nature,
existence and exercise of power within contemporary mental health
care. As well as examining his original and challenging account of
power, Foucault’s emphasis on the intimate relationship between power
and knowledge will be explored within the context of psychiatry and
mental health nursing. This is to say that the paper will investigate
Foucault’s account of how power and knowledge are central to the
process by which human beings are ‘made subjects’ and therefore how
‘psychiatric identities’ are produced. In doing so, it will be suggested
that Foucault’s work can not only make a valuable contribution to
contemporary discussions about power and knowledge, but can also
provide a significant critique and reconceptualization of the theoretical
foundations and associated diagnostic and therapeutic practices of psychiatry
and mental health nursing.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 33-42 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Nursing Philosophy |
Volume | 6 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jan 2005 |