ABSTRACT
Becoming “mentally ill” in a sociological sense involves the assignment of a particular social role, the “sick role” or patient role (Parsons 1951; Gerhardt 1989). As with any illness, physical or mental, the sick role includes rights and responsibilities for the person so placed: the right to be excused from normal role obligations, the right to be excused from blame for the incapacitation or illness, the obligation to seek appropriate expert assistance for the problem, and the obligation to follow through with that expert’s advice. The assumption in Parsons’ original explication of the sick role as elaborated by Uta Gerhardt (1989) was that proper assumption and execution of these role responsibilities would result in a return to appropriate role functioning, thus restoring social order, sparing the social system of a dysfunctional member and a threat to its stability and equilibrium. “What matters is the social order. Illness becomes a disturbing factor dysfunctional for the upkeep of order in society . . . the social order works on the basis of powerful homeostatic mechanisms, and medical practice is meant to constitute one, if not ‘the’ most important one” (1989:64).
