By diagnosing behaviour problems as 'mental illness', this book argues that psychiatry absolves the individual of responsibility for his actions, placing blame instead on the illness. It also argues that Freudian psychology is a dangerous pseudo-science, and critiques the overreach of psychology into the various aspects of modern life.

50th Anniversary Edition With a New Preface and Two Bonus Essays

The most influential critique of psychiatry ever written, Thomas Szasz's classic book revolutionized thinking about the nature of the psychiatric profession and the moral implications of its practices. By diagnosing unwanted behavior as mental illness, psychiatrists, Szasz argues, absolve individuals of responsibility for their actions and instead blame their alleged illness. He also critiques Freudian psychology as a pseudoscience and warns against the dangerous overreach of psychiatry into all aspects of modern life.

“Quite probably, Szasz has done more than any other man to alert the American public to the potential dangers of an excessively psychiatrized society.”