Psychiatry and the Presumption of Expertise, Part 1

In this video, I will begin reading from the article “Psychiatry and the Presumption of Expertise: Flipping Coins in the Courtroom”. While the article focuses on involuntary commitment, it provides a clear picture of the state of psychiatry of the 1960s and 1970s, with an inclusion of a thorough review of the professional research available at the time. Given the way the American Psychiatric Association (APA) tried to sweep these issues under the rug with the publication of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition (DSM-III), and with the continued deferment to psychiatric judgment in cases of involuntary commitment, the article uncovers issues which have serious implications to this day.