Sovereign power, spectacle and punishment: a critical analysis of the use of the seclusion room

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to engage with the reader in a theoretical reflection regarding the use of the seclusion room as a punitive nursing intervention (behaviour modification technique for instance). To set the stage, we explore the internal structure and functioning (culture) of the psychiatric institution – as total institution – from a Goffmanian perspective. Then, drawing on the work of the late French philosopher Michel Foucault, we introduce the concept of sovereign power and explore how various forms of punishment (as manifestations of power) came into play at different moments in history. Through an exploration of seclusion and its use in the psychiatric domain, we critically examine this practice when used as a behaviour modification technique. Finally, the use of seclusion is discussed in terms of the concept of sovereign power with the purpose of highlighting the political forces surrounding such a coercive practice in psychiatric nursing.