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The depsychiatrisation of mental illness

Joseph Dumit (University of California)

Journal of Public Mental Health

ISSN: 1746-5729

Article publication date: 1 September 2005

195

Abstract

Using as an example the mental health mass screening and treatment programmes instituted in some US states, Joseph Dumit describes how the western world has arrived at a state of ‘dependent normality’ in which being diagnosed and dependent on medication is rendered ordinary, largely through the marketing activities of the pharmaceutical industry, which seeks constantly to expand its market by defining at‐risk populations as broadly as possible, and through persuading the public that all risks must be combated with drugs.

Keywords

Citation

Dumit, J. (2005), "The depsychiatrisation of mental illness", Journal of Public Mental Health, Vol. 4 No. 3, pp. 8-13. https://doi.org/10.1108/17465729200500019

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2005, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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