The culture and history of psychiatric stigma in early modern and modern Western societies: a review of recent literature

Abstract

This report continues a review of literature pertaining to psychiatric stigma in Western societies. It concentrates on the early modern and modern periods. The general role played by the medical profession in these two periods with respect to those suffering from psychiatric illness is emphasized. In the initial phase, its largely scientific academic perspective was prominent, and the church's influence continued but became less important. In general, it was during these two periods that the state became increasingly influential in policies involving the institutionalization of marginal populations, including the mad and insane. Many "revisionist" historians have criticized the role played by the emerging psychiatric profession in this whole process and these writings are reviewed. Overall, a complex assortment of factors are seen to contribute to an accentuation of psychiatric stigma that had its roots in the classical and medieval periods.