The Declaration of Madrid. Psychiatric ethics in the light of the Ethical Declarations

Journal Title: Current Problems of Psychiatry - Year 2015, Vol 16, Issue 1

Abstract

Psychiatry is the medical specialty and psychiatrists face ethical and deontological dilemmas and questions similar to their medi-cal colleagues from different specialties. One way to address such situations is to reference certain principles and codes that are the result of the ethical considerations of the medical community. An excellent example of this is the Hippocratic Oath to which doctors have referred for hundreds of years. Psychiatry is a very young medical discipline that emerged only 250 years ago. Until the mid-20th century, the ethical rules of psychiatry were only governed by medical codes of ethics common to all medical professionals. Only with the recent, intensive devel-opment of psychiatry following many abuses and misuses of the World War II, have psychiatrists developed special principles of ethics unique to psychiatry. This paper discusses the historical background of the difficulties confronting the development of psychiatry, including its past abuses, and then shows the significant impact of this history on the development of the ethical documents related to psychiatry. The crimes and the abuses of World War II are among the most significant factors considered here. Among many the medical codes of ethics, The Nuremberg Code (1947), The Declaration of Geneva(1948), The International Code of Medical Ethics (1964) and The Declara-tion of Tokyo (1975) deserve mention. Finally, psychiatrists have adopted the documents directed particularly for themselves. Among the first psychiatric codes of ethics implemented were The Principles of Medical Ethics with Annotations Especially Applicable to Psychiatry issued by APA in USA (1973), The Declaration of Hawaii (1977) and later, The Declaration of Madrid, issued by WPA (1996). Presently, the WPA continues to develop their project, The Code of Psychiatric Ethics. In this paper, the above-mentioned documents are described in the context of their formation, evolution and upgrading. This pa-per also presents the expectations and plans for the comprehensive development of ethical thought in the field of psychiatry. Aside from the adoption of ethical codes for psychiatry, it is also necessary to develop appropriate ethical personal attitudes and properly formed consciences, because without these, ethical codes and oaths alone cannot protect against further abuses and crimes in the field.

Authors and Affiliations

Artur Hącia

Keywords

Related Articles

Zjawisko hazardu rozpatrywane w kontekście psychospołecznego funkcjonowania adolescentów

Celem artykułu jest omówienie współwystępowania różnych czynników psychospołecznych z rozwojem zachowań hazardowych u adolescentów. Artykuł zawiera także charakterystykę czynników chroniących i czynników ryzyka związanyc...

Taksonomia psycholeksykalna języka białoruskiego

Celem przeprowadzonych badań psycholeksykalnych była identyfikacja terminów, który służą do opisu cech osobowości w języku białoruskim. Aby ten cel zrealizować przeprowadzono analizę 105 tys. haseł zawartych w uniwersaln...

Manifestowanie oporu przez grupę

Każdy, kto pracuje z innymi ludźmi, zarówno w terapii, udzielaniu wsparcia psychologicznego, jak i oddziaływaniach edukacyjnych może napotkać zjawisko oporu – paradoksalny fenomen, bardzo często pojawiający się w trakcie...

Quality of marital relationships in patients with diagnosis of psychotic disorders in both partners – case report

Niniejszy artykuł dotyczy jakości relacji partnerskiej w małżeństwie w którym u obojga partnerów zdiagnozowane zostały zaburzenia psychotyczne tj. schizofrenia paranoidalna (F.20.0) oraz zaburzenia schizoafektywne, typ d...

Koncepcja ruchu w teście Hermanna Rorschacha. Refleksje nad książką Naamah Akavii: Subjectivity in Motion. Life, Art, and Movement in the Work of Hermann Rorschach

Inspiracją do napisania niniejszej pracy była książka Naamah Akavii, absolwentki Cohn’s Institute of History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas, zatytułowanej: Subjectivity in Motion. Life, Art, and Movement in the Work...

Download PDF file
  • EP ID EP153914
  • DOI -
  • Views 101
  • Downloads 0

How To Cite

Artur Hącia (2015). The Declaration of Madrid. Psychiatric ethics in the light of the Ethical Declarations. Current Problems of Psychiatry, 16(1), 9-17. https://europub.co.uk/articles/-A-153914