Abstract
The recent Eighth World Congress of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA), held between 12 and 19 October 1989 in Athens, was reminiscent of the previous World Congress in 1983 in Vienna, and the one before that in 1977 in Honolulu. Once again the issue of the Soviet political misuse of psychiatry reared its ugly head, and dominated the Association's proceedings. In 1977 the critical debate revolved around what position the WPA should adopt concerning the abuse. In a cliff-hanger vote, the WPA passed a resolution condemning the political misuse of psychiatry but explicitly citing the Soviet case (Bloch & Reddaway, 1984). In the absence of any improvement in the situation by the time of Vienna and in the virtual certainty that the Russians would have been expelled from the organisation, the Soviet Psychiatric Society resigned from its membership in January 1983. In order to forestall a precipitous and premature readmission, the Royal College of Psychiatrists proposed at the Vienna Congress that the Soviets would be welcomed back into the fold but only when they had demonstrated “sincere co-operation”, and when there had been concrete evidence of “amelioration” of the abuse.
Highlights
The salient question in Athens was whether the conditions embodied in the Vienna Resolution had been adequately met
Two senior psychiatrists who would have almost certainly proved an embarrassment in Athens, were left at home - Professor Georgy Morozov, the Director of the Serbsky Forensic Psychiatric Institute, and late Chairman of the AU-Union Society, and active participant in the abuses; and Dr Alexander Churkin, the sacked Chief Psychiatrist in the Federal Health Ministry who had, a year earlier, invented the term "hyperdiagnosis" to explain away cases of abuse
I have to admit that I have sometimes stumbled upon cases of so-called 'hyperdiagnosis' where the symptoms and the severity of the mental disturbance were less pronounced than those diagnosed by the psychiatrist" (Novoye Vrema, No 43, 1988)
Summary
The main "diplomatic" thrust came in the form of a memorandum disseminated by the Soviet Psychiatric Society at the beginning of the Congress. [It will be recalled that Dr Gluzman served a ten-year sentence in the 1970s for his criticism of Soviet psychiatric practices In recognition of his courage and commitment to ethical psychiatry, Gluzman was made a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association in 1979, and an Honorary Member of the Royal College in 1980 (Bloch & Reddaway, 1984)]. The open discussion about the state of Soviet psychiatry in the media including even a critical commentary in Kommunist, the theoretical and political journal of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (No 13, 1989), was not matched by an open discussion among the ranks of the official psychiatric leadership On the contrary, they had explicitly disapproved of the efforts of the media (Reddaway, 1989). More relevant though was the opportunity it had provided for delegates of the WPA member societies to gain a more thorough understanding of the issues surrounding the readmission question
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
