ABSTRACT
In the last chapter, following my discussion of Foucault’s ideas, I outlined some brief examples of the focus upon the role of the body in the presentation of mental illness within British psychiatry. It has consistently focused upon bodily processes as cause of mental distress, on observation of the body, and on treatments in the form of therapies and procedures aimed at affecting the body. I examined contemporary texts used by psychiatrists and nurses in their training and clinical practice, and found that the texts used refer to a predominantly biomedical framework in their discussion of the understanding and treatment of mental illness and its bodily presentation.
