Madness and neoliberalism. Antipsychiatry's role in contemporary mental health

Abstract

This article intends to analyze changes surrounding the comprehension of madness after the irruption of the antipsychiatry movement and examine the adaption processes of its approaches within the framework of neoliberalism’s rise and upswing. In accordance with the critical observation of the postulates of the «ex-patient» or «survivor of psychiatry» movement and the recovery model in mental health, the ideological transformations of the comprehension and approach of madness in contemporary mental health are described. Finally, this paper examines the relevance of antipsychiatry in a neoliberal context in terms of acknowledging the importance of defending citizen rights, strengthening of autonomy and construction of political alliances, as well as the transformative potential of community spaces and social movements that vindicate madness as the basis of their collective identity.