Psychiatry in Dissent: Anthony Clare's critique, defence and reinvigoration of psychiatry

Abstract

Psychiatry in Dissent: Controversial Issues in Thought and Practice was published in 1976. In the book, Irish psychiatrist Anthony Clare (1942–2007) both defended and critiqued contemporary psychiatry. He demystified the field, analysed its problems and argued that psychiatry, for all its flaws, offered a reasoned and reasonable path forward. His arguments remain fiercely relevant today, sometimes eerily so.