ABSTRACT
Explicit discussion of the body within sociology is a relatively recent development. As Chris Shilling points out in The Body and Social Theory, sociology has historically rarely focused upon the embodied human being ‘as an object of importance in its own right’ (1993: 19). The development of sociological discussion about the body has largely had as its focal point the work of Michel Foucault. As I stated in the Introduction, Foucault’s writings are often difficult, but I hope to present them in a relevant and accessible manner here. Foucault’s writings on the body can be understood as having two main components. First, an emphasis upon institutions that control and govern the body. Second, the assertion that the body is itself constructed through prevailing discourses. The purpose of this chapter is to apply Foucault’s understanding of the body to mainstream mental health practice. I suggest that the mental health practitioner in their practice might consider how the mentally ill body is constructed by prevailing biomedical discourses and is subject to regulation by the institution of psychiatry. In other words, it is often the case that as practitioners we view the mentally ill person as a biological subject. I will then provide some brief examples of how, in Britain since the eighteenth century, mental illness has been understood and defined in relation to the body. I will then examine, with reference to psychiatric texts, and, considering my own background, nursing texts, the ways in which mainstream psychiatry focuses upon the body as a diagnostic index in the assessment process.
