Psychiatric Ethics [Oxford Medical Publications]

During the 1980s the psychiatric profession has come to recognize more than ever before the many complex ethical dilemmas which face the clinician (and the researcher) in their everyday practice. When the first edition of this book was published it served as one of the first authoritative accounts of this fast-developing subject. This new edition continues in this tradition but now includes new chapters to take into account recent trends and developments in the interface between ethics and psychiatric practice. Thus, new chapters cover: a conceptual analysis of what mental illness is, abuses of psychiatry in Japan and Nazi Germany, ethical aspects of psychogeriatrics, deinstitutionalization and psychiatry as a profession. Where appropriate, chapters from the first edition have been thoroughly revised and updated. Similarly, the appendix which contains a number of codes of ethics has been brought up to date. All contributors to this second edition have taken into account contemporary trends and developments in psychiatry and have combined to produce a volume which will continue to provide a systematic and comprehensive account of the subject. The book should be of interest to psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and nurses, and to all those involved in the care of the mentally ill.