Controversy has often surrounded psychiatry. Psychiatry's history involves what may now be seen as dangerous treatments, such as electroconvulsive therapy and lobotomy. The term anti-psychiatry was coined by psychiatrist David Cooper in 1967 and is understood in current psychiatry to mean opposition to psychiatry's perceived role in: (1) medicalizing madness, (2) drastic measures such as lobotomies used to control mental illness, (3) physical or pharmacological restraints applied to suicidal inpatients, (4) disabling or intolerable side effects of medications, (5) the diagnosis of slaves as being mentally ill for wanting to escape from their masters, (6) regarding psychoanalysis as unscientific or harmful, (7) treating homosexuality as a mental illness, and (8) diagnostic practices not based on objective scientific evidence. The general anti-psychiatry view is that psychiatric treatments are ineffective, unnecessary, or unsafe, and that ultimately psychiatric treatment is not helpful to patients. Some ex-patient groups, referring to themselves as "survivors", have become anti-psychiatric, while others are critical of anti-psychiatry as well as psychiatry.

Controversy has often surrounded psychiatry. Psychiatry's history involves what may now be seen as dangerous treatments, such as electroconvulsive therapy and lobotomy.

The term anti-psychiatry was coined by psychiatrist David Cooper in 1967 and is understood in current psychiatry to mean opposition to psychiatry's perceived role in: (1) medicalizing madness, (2) drastic measures such as lobotomies used to control mental illness, (3) physical or pharmacological restraints applied to suicidal inpatients, (4) disabling or intolerable side effects of medications, (5) the diagnosis of slaves as being mentally ill for wanting to escape from their masters, (6) regarding psychoanalysis as unscientific or harmful, (7) treating homosexuality as a mental illness, and (8) diagnostic practices not based on objective scientific evidence.

The general anti-psychiatry view is that psychiatric treatments are ineffective, unnecessary, or unsafe, and that ultimately psychiatric treatment is not helpful to patients. Some ex-patient groups, referring to themselves as "survivors", have become anti-psychiatric, while others are critical of anti-psychiatry as well as psychiatry.