Camille Robcis, "Disalienation: Politics, Philosophy, and Radical Psychiatry in Postwar France" (U Chicago Press, 2021)
Jan 2, 2025
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Camille Robcis, a Columbia University scholar and historian specializing in modern European intellectual history, delves into the complexities of institutional psychotherapy in postwar France. She discusses the profound influences of key figures like Frantz Fanon and Michel Foucault. Topics include the historical intersections of politics and psychiatry, the evolution of psychiatric spaces, and innovative therapeutic practices. Robcis also connects past movements with contemporary political issues, exploring how historical narratives shape our understanding of mental health and identity.
The podcast explores how institutional psychotherapy in postwar France emerged as a response to the oppressive conditions faced during World War II.
Camille Robcis emphasizes the importance of integrating political contexts into psychiatric practices, allowing for a more humane and communal approach to mental health.
The dialogues surrounding major thinkers like Frantz Fanon and Michel Foucault reveal the complex interplay between politics, psychiatry, and the individual psyche.
Deep dives
The Origins of Disalienation
The book 'Disalienation' explores the emergence of institutional psychotherapy in France during World War II, primarily stemming from the political and social upheaval caused by the war. It highlights the oppressive conditions in psychiatric institutions during this time, where massive neglect led to significant patient deaths, prompting a new understanding of the relationship between psychiatry and politics. The early practitioners recognized the need for a psychiatric practice that was attuned to socio-political contexts and that could evolve to prevent alienation within institutions. This paradigm shift sought to rethink psychiatric practices, embedding them within a political framework that champions human dignity and communal healing.
The Role of Institutions and Community
Central to the practice of institutional psychotherapy is the belief that institutions, when designed thoughtfully, can promote healing and community rather than oppression and isolation. The practitioners, inspired by social theory and psychoanalysis, branded their approach as an ethical praxis aimed at fostering a non-hierarchical, collective environment. By dismantling physical barriers within psychiatric hospitals, such as walls and locks, they created open, inclusive spaces where patients could interact freely with each other and the community. This radical approach prioritized communal living and collective activities as tools for healing, effectively turning the hospital into a site of psychological liberation.
Political Dimensions of the Psyche
The interplay between psychology and politics is a fundamental theme in the conversations surrounding institutional psychotherapy, notably exemplified through case studies like that of François Tosquelles. His work demonstrated how the political climate can shape mental health outcomes, where the traumas of war directly impacted the psyche of individuals within psychiatric contexts. This recognition of the political dimensions of psychiatric care underscored that mental health is not a standalone issue but intricately connected to broader societal conditions, including those of war and repression. It reinforced the understanding that any effective psychiatric practice must confront and adapt to these sociopolitical realities.
Fanon's Contribution to Institutional Psychotherapy
Frantz Fanon’s experience within the framework of institutional psychotherapy brought forth critical insights into the practice of psychiatry in colonial contexts. As a medical resident at Saint-Alban, he witnessed how adapting therapeutic practices to the cultural and social specifics of patients was essential for effective treatment, especially among marginalized populations. His eventual realization that mental health practices must engage with the underlying social conditions of oppression was pivotal in emphasizing the role of context in psychiatric care. This integration of political and psychological analysis has had lasting implications for understanding the complexities of mental health in the light of colonial and post-colonial struggles.
Foucault's Critical Perspective
Michel Foucault's influence is examined, particularly regarding his critical analysis of psychiatry and its power dynamics. While Foucault's writings are often viewed through the lens of anti-psychiatry, the relationship between his work and institutional psychotherapy reveals a nuanced dialogue rather than a simple opposition. The exploration of his early psychiatric engagements juxtaposed with the institutional practices highlights how issues of power, normalization, and resistance intertwine. Such an analysis deepens the understanding of contemporary psychiatric practices, revealing how resonances of Foucault's theoretical insights can inform discussions on the nature of authority within mental health institutions today.
On this episode, J.J. Mull interviews scholar and historian Camille Robcis. In her most recent book, Disalienation: Politics, Philosophy, and Radical Psychiatry in Postwar France(University of Chicago Press, 2021), Robcis grapples with the historical, intellectual, psychiatric and psychoanalytic meaning of institutional psychotherapy as articulated at Saint-Alban Hospital in France by exploring the movement’s key thinkers, including François Tosquelles, Frantz Fanon, Félix Guattari, and Michel Foucault. Anchored in the history of one hospital, Robcis's study draws on a wide geographic context—revolutionary Spain, occupied France, colonial Algeria, and beyond—and charts the movement's place within a broad political-economic landscape, from fascism to Stalinism to postwar capitalism.
J.J. Mull is a poet, training clinician, and graduate student at Smith College School for Social Work currently living in Northampton, MA. He can be reached at jmull@smith.edu.