ABSTRACT
Radical Psychiatry is a theory of human emotional disturbance and a method designed to deal with it. The central principle of radical psychiatry is that psychiatric problems are manifestations of alienation that results from oppression that has been mystified in the isolated individual. Mystification involves cultural discounting or justification of oppression. Radical psychiatry opposes the medicalization of psychotherapy and the use of psychiatric jargon and diagnostic labels and sees such usage as an example of oppression and alienation of isolated individuals in emotional distress. Group psychotherapy is the main therapeutic method in the radical psychiatry approach. Exploring oppression and the mystifications that support oppression through ‘consciousness raising’ (awareness) is a key method. The promotion of egalitarian and cooperative relationships between group participants is an important goal in radical psychiatry groups. Groups maintain cooperative contracts as ‘rules of engagement’.
