정찬승 원장은 제19회 환태평양정신의학회, 대한신경정신의학회 2021년 춘계 학술대회 Symposium 21 – Creating the safe environments of mental health services 에서 ‘Law and Virtue: Cultural Understanding of Human Rights and Safety in Mental Health Services’ 제하로 강연했습니다.

Law and Virtue: Cultural Understanding of Human Rights and Safety in Mental Health Services
Chan-Seung Chung (Korea)

The 19th International Congress of the Pacific Rim College of Psychiatrists
2021년도 대한신경정신의학회 춘계학술대회

*** Hybrid Congress : Onsite & Online ***
April 8 (Thu) – 10 (Sat), 2021
Venue Swiss Grand Hotel Seoul
Theme Towards effective, safe and equitable mental health care for all

Abstract

Law and Virtue: Cultural Understanding of Human Rights and Safety in Mental Health Services

Chan-Seung Chung

Department of Psychiatry, Maum Dream Clinic, Republic of Korea

Psychiatry in East Asian countries has progressed through Westernization and modernization to assimilate the psychiatry of the developed countries. However, the cultures of developed countries in the East and West are different. Problems occur when uniform standards are applied blindly without sufficient understanding of the culture and tradition of each country.
The industrialization and urbanization of the West further accelerated the admission of psychiatric patients. Since the 1950s, deinstitutionalization has dominated mental healthcare reforms throughout the Western world. However, in Asian countries the detention and institutionalization of psychiatric patients started with the introduction of Western medicine. Asian governments have been inducing deinstitutionalization through the legislation of the mental health law but instances of long-term institutionalization by resorting to expedient still exist.
In contrast to the Western liberal concept which sees each individual as having equal rights, traditional Asian culture emphasizes more on harmonious interpersonal relationships, interdependence and mutual moral obligation. Such culture could have appeared in the form of the patients with psychiatric illness being detained to pursue the peace of the community and to save the face of the family rather than the patient’s freedom and human rights.
In modern society, the human rights of psychiatric patients conflict with the safety of the society. The human rights of neglected patients should be given more attention when the safety of the society is insecure. The most preferred solution would be to guide them to treatment.
Mental health is being pressured to become globalized like so many other things. Globalization of mental health should not be imposed uniformly and should be applied based on the understanding of each countries’ culture and tradition.