J Korean Neuropsychiatr Assoc.  2025 Aug;64(3):129-147. 10.4306/jknpa.2025.64.3.129.

Implications of Antipsychiatry for Psychiatry

• Kang UG

• KMID: 2571591
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4306/jknpa.2025.64.3.129

Abstract

Antipsychiatry is a critical movement in psychiatry that emerged during the anti-authoritarian and progressive atmosphere of the 1960s. In some regions, such as Italy, a nationwide reform of the mental healthcare system was implemented based on concepts associated with this movement. However, in most other parts of the world, mainstream psychiatry has paid little attention to it. Although the proponents of antipsychiatry maintained their stance and opinions throughout their lives, the movement is now regarded as a historical event. In this article, the author reviews some of the key early works published by leading figures of the antipsychiatry movement, such as Michel Foucault, Thomas Szasz, and Ronald D. Laing. Furthermore, the reformed Italian mental health system, inspired by Franco Basaglia, is briefly discussed. The author suggests that the antipsychiatry movement still holds significant implications for psychiatrists and contemporary psychiatric practice. It poses a fundamental question for psychiatrists: “What are psychiatric disorders, and who are psychiatric patients?”

Keyword

Antipsychiatry; Michel Foucault; Thomas S. Szasz; Ronald D. Laing; Franco Basagli