antipsychiatry
|an-ti-psy-chi-a-try|
🇺🇸
/ˌæn.ti.saɪˈkaɪ.ə.tri/
🇬🇧
/ˌæn.tɪ.saɪˈkaɪ.ə.tri/
opposition to psychiatry
Etymology
'antipsychiatry' originates from the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti-' meaning 'against') combined with 'psychiatry.' 'Psychiatry' comes from Modern Latin/Greek formation 'psychiatria' (from Greek 'psyche' meaning 'soul, mind' + 'iatreia' meaning 'healing, medical care').
'psyche' (Greek, 'soul, mind') and 'iatreia' (Greek, 'healing') combined into Neo-Latin 'psychiatria', which passed into French as 'psychiatrie' and into English as 'psychiatry'. The compound 'antipsychiatry' was formed in English in the mid-20th century (notably used in the 1960s) by adding the prefix 'anti-' to 'psychiatry' to denote opposition.
Initially used to denote explicit opposition to contemporary psychiatric practices and institutions, the term broadened over time to cover a range of critics from academic theorists to grassroots activists; its use has sometimes shifted between a formal intellectual critique and a more general label for opposition to psychiatric authority.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a social, political, and intellectual movement critical of psychiatric practice, institutions, and concepts—opposing certain diagnoses, treatments (especially involuntary treatment and electroshock), and the medicalization of mental distress.
Antipsychiatry activists argued that many psychiatric diagnoses reflected social control rather than medical illness.
Synonyms
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Last updated: 2025/09/08 02:22