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 historian at Columbia University and author of "Disalienation," delves into the fascinating world of radical psychiatry in postwar France. She explores the dual nature of psychiatric institutions, revealing their potential for both oppression and liberation. The discussion highlights the interplay between political regimes and psychiatric practices, emphasizing the importance of collective care. Robcis also connects historical movements to current global political struggles, showcasing how these ideas can transform contemporary mental health discourse.
Camille Robcis explores the radical psychiatric movement in postwar France, emphasizing its political implications and socio-economic contexts across diverse historical landscapes.
Institutional psychotherapy arose from the need to transform oppressive psychiatric practices by fostering humane care, community engagement, and therapeutic relationships during WWII.
The discussion highlights the contrasting views of figures like Frantz Fanon and Michel Foucault, revealing the complex interplay between politics, mental health, and institutional power dynamics.
Deep dives
The Intersection of Psychoanalysis and Political Thought
The podcast examines the relationship between psychoanalysis and political thought, particularly through the work of Camille Robesies. Robesies highlights how her scholarly focus has evolved from a concern with conservative uses of psychoanalysis to exploring its liberatory potential. This shift is significant, as it underscores the importance of understanding psychoanalysis not merely as a clinical practice but as an intertwined field impacting social norms and political ideologies, especially in the context of modern European history.
Institutional Psychotherapy as a Response to War
Institutional psychotherapy emerged during World War II, responding to the horrific conditions within psychiatric institutions and the political realities of the time. This approach was predicated on the belief that psychiatry must address political dimensions, as wartime policies had led to the systemic neglect and death of psychiatric patients. By reshaping institutions to prioritize humane practices and therapeutic relationships, institutional psychotherapy sought to transform the oppressive systems of care into supportive environments, fostering healing and community engagement.
The Role of Enclosure in Mental Health
The concept of spatial enclosure is a critical theme in the discussion of institutional psychotherapy. It highlights the detrimental effects of confinement in psychiatric settings, particularly how physical spaces can perpetuate alienation and stigmatization. By breaking down the architectural barriers of traditional psychiatric hospitals, practitioners aimed to create more open and integrated spaces that encouraged social interaction and collective healing, contrasting starkly with the isolating impacts of previous institutional models.
Fanon's Contribution to Institutional Psychotherapy
Frantz Fanon's involvement with institutional psychotherapy offers important insights into the political dimensions of mental health practices. After working in the Saint-Alban clinic, Fanon applied the principles of institutional psychotherapy to his work in Algeria, demonstrating how culturally responsive practices could enhance therapeutic outcomes. His experiences highlight the significance of adapting psychiatric methods to local contexts, especially in understanding how social and political factors influence mental health and healing.
Foucault's Critical Perspective on Psychiatry
Michel Foucault's analysis of psychiatry presents an important counterpoint to the ideals of institutional psychotherapy, emphasizing the power dynamics inherent in mental health practices. While institutional psychotherapy advocates for political engagement and the humane treatment of patients, Foucault critiques institutional structures for their potential to reinforce authority and control. His work invites a deeper examination of how psychiatric practices can reflect broader socio-political realities, challenging the assumptions of neutrality within mental health care.
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.