Detention under the Mental Health Act: balancing rights, risks and needs for services

Forensic Psychiatry

“…It is understood that the nursing staff must reinforce conformity with regard to the distribution of inmates within the environment and as it pertains to exerting control over their activities or the sequencing of these activities. Conformity plays an active part in structuring inmates in space and time (44). Each prisoner occupies his own space and shares common areas where he may socialize with peers.…”

“…Foucault states that although prisoners are under continuous surveillance, the same applies to the staff in corrections. The director of the institution may spy on his employees: nurses, doctors, foremen, educators, and guards; he will be able to judge them continuously, modify their behaviors and force his own ways on them as he sees fit (44). In fact, every time there are numerous individuals to enforce a task or a behavior, the panopticon pattern may be reproduced (47).…”

“…The controversy revolved around the withdrawal of a job offer following the delivery of a lecture by Dr. David Healy titled Psychopharmacology & The Government of the Self (44).…”

“…In all likelihood many of you will not agree with me on this-you haven't seen the information I have seen. (44) The lecture had a broader focus dealing with the history and changes in biopsychiatry over 50 years. However, the claim over concern of increased chance of suicide as risk associated with SSRI drug use appeared central to the attempt to control academic discourse.…”

“…As noted, Healy's lecture detailed a brief comprehensive synopsis of the history of psychiatry and raised many issues in terms of the relationship between psychiatry and the role that the development of new drugs have in the modern era and their interaction with the social order (44). He indicated that the development of not only psychiatric medications but also drugs including oral contraceptives, Viagra ® , and other forms of medical intervention including cosmetic surgery are interacting with society and social constructs in ways that change the nature of society itself (44).…”