Defining Madness

". . . Dr Shea's fascinating history and analysis of mental health law in New South Wales from its earliest days … a lucid and scholarly account of the medico-legal concept of mental illness. Members of both professions and many others besides will profit from his research and have a much clearer understanding of the importance of the policy issues involved and the inherent difficulty of attempting to solve them in the words of a statute. ... Far from being a dry legislative history, this is an absorbing account of the attempt to set out the circumstances that would justify a person being involuntarily detained in a mental hospital."Michael Sexton SC, Solicitor-General for NSW Dr Shea focuses on the central point of tension in mental health legislation - the need to balance an individual's right, in normal circumstances, to liberty and privacy, with the need to protect the general community including members of the individual's family. In Australia that debate has been conducted largely through the definition of a "mentally ill person". A person admitted as "a mentally ill person" can be confined for the length of their treatment; the definition, accordingly, raises a special need for a system of safeguards. Dr Shea charts the changes to the definition from Lunacy Act 1843 to the 1997 amendments to the Mental Health Act 1990. He discusses not only the various statutory provisions but also the numerous committee reports and parliamentary debates in which the issue is explored.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Definitions The Early Years 1788-1843 1843-1898 1898-1958: The Last Lunacy Act to the First Mental Health Act 1958-1982 1982-1983 Judicial Interpretations 1983-1990 1990-1997 The Future Bibliography/ Index

Review :
"This short book ... focuses on an historical review of mental illness in New South Wales ... But it is far more than simply a history of the attempts of the legislature and judiciary to come to grips with the vexing problem of what is and what is not mental illness. Further, it highlights the problems encountered when a definition permits incarceration of a person and the deprivation of their liberty, when that definition itself contains uncertain and imprecise criteria. For any person who imagines themselves as having an interest in the forensic side of the law, this is a very interesting book, written in a style which is easy to read and absorb. It will give any reader a greater understanding of the very difficult problems surrounding the identification of an adequate description of mental illness and of how questions of public policy have influenced most attempts at defining the term, in earlier legislation. It is highly recommended reading." - Law Society of Tasmania newsletter, June 2001