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In Defence Of Autonomy In Psychiatric Health Care
Simona GIORDANO*
*Dott.ssa, PhD, IMLAB/CSEP, The University of Manchester, UK and La Consulta di Bioetica, Milano, Italy
Over the last thirty years there has been a transition, in medical care, from a paternalistic model toward a model based on respect for the individual's autonomy. The application of such a model in psychiatry is controversial, as it is believed that mental illness may subvert people's autonomy. Consequently, in some countries, the diagnosis of mental illness represents one of the criteria for coercive detention and treatment of the mental disorder. I shall demonstrate that non-consensual intervention cannot be justified (even partly) on the grounds that the individual has been diagnosed as having mental disorder. It cannot be justified on the grounds that the individual does not meet some philosophical standards of personhood or moral agency, either. Autonomy should be given the same value in psychiatry that is given in other medical areas. All people's autonomous actions and choices, ranging from complex medical decisions to the simplest tasks of daily life, ought to be respected, unless, for some reasons, we want to adopt a prejudicial and discriminatory attitude toward those who receive a psychiatric diagnosis.Keywords: Autonomy, Psychiatry, Health careT Klin J Med Ethics 2001, 9:59-66
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