Re-institutionnalisation ou désinstitutionnalisation? Regards croisés entre la France et l'Argentine: à propos des réglementations en santé mentale

Abstract

Objective While psychiatry has never been defined as guaranteeing the law, its purpose socially and historically has been defined as protecting society from its most intolerable by-products. We will see how the evolution in the treatment of insanity in France and its influence on Argentinian psychiatry has brought us today to very different and even opposite situations in the area of mental health policies in these two countries. Method We studied evolution and change in mental health policies in these two countries, focusing on the last two mental health laws. Results The new laws and their attempted application aim to homogenise psychiatric care, and above all to comply with patients’ rights and requirements of transparency in the information provided to them. Discussion In France, the current situation seems to be tending towards a judiciary and legalist approach to mental health, the issue being how to respond to the new demands for control and security. Across the Atlantic, Argentina, where the European heritage has always been acknowledged, seems to be in the opposite situation. Conclusion Mental health policies reflect the contemporary debate on the role of psychiatric institutions and the place of insanity in the social fabric.