As more and more “mental disorders” are added to the ever expanding psychiatric bible—The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders—and more and more people find themselves on psychotropic drugs, voices of critique are progressively heard. Central among them is Bonnie Burstow, author of Psychiatry and the Business of Madness. A professor at University of Toronto and a renowned scholar, advancing further than other critics, in this book, depicting psychiatry as a self-interested business, Burstow makes the case that psychiatry’s tenets are totally foundationless, that psychiatry intrinsically harms, and she calls on society to admit that the turn toward psychiatry was a colossal misstep. Correspondingly, the book invites readers into a societal dialogue over how instead we might approach the problems to which human beings are heir.
What in short is this library talk? An extensive introduction to antipsychiatry. An opportunity to find out more about this ground-breaking book. And the beginnings of a much needed social dialogue.
Rough Agenda:
6:30-7:30: Address by Burstow
7:30-8:00: Q&A and comments from audience.
Where? The Elizabeth Beeton Auditorium (north end of main floor), The Toronto Reference Library, 789 Yonge Street,
When? Tuesday, December 6th, 6:30-8:00 pm.
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