Since the era of deinstitutionalisation, many clinical approaches have emerged to enable the care and treatment of people suffering from mental illness. In recent years, the use of coercive approaches in the community (e.g., outpatient commitment or community treatment orders) has also increased internationally. Although nurses' role regarding these coercive approaches is central and significant, few empirical and theoretical writings have tackled this controversial nursing practice. The purpose of this paper is to analyse coercive nursing care through the lens of (...) French philosopher Gilles Deleuze's concept of ‘societies of control’. Taking up Michel Foucault's work on disciplinary power, Deleuze explores how the move from the striated spaces of closed institutions to the smooth spaces of societies of control took place since the middle of the 20th century. According to Deleuze, the overall objective of ‘societies of control’ is no longer simply to govern deviant behaviour in closed environments (e.g., psychiatric hospitals and prisons) but to ensure a regime of unrelentless surveillance in the open spaces of our communities. (shrink)

According to the literature, the family is now considered to be the most important resource for the care and support of a sick family member. Families are being increasingly invited and trained to play a utilitarian role, not just as family caregivers, but as healthcare agents. Healthcare institutions, based on neoliberal health policies, are encouraging them to perform increasingly complex and professionalized tasks. The burden associated with this expanded healthcare function, however, is significant (fatigue, emotional distress and exhaustion). The aim (...) of this article was to present French sociologist Jacques Donzelot's theoretical perspective on governing through the family. According to Donzelot, such a government is exercised through various power techniques, including the instrumentalization of the family role and the transfer to families of the responsibility for health care. This author describes how healthcare institutions call on the family to perform hospital and biomedical practices within the home. A spin‐off of neoliberalism, the practices of governing through families specifically target women, who are considered to be the pillar of the family. Donzelot's perspective is very relevant to nursing, but is still rarely mobilized in the discipline. His critical perspective allows for a re‐reading of relations of power and mechanisms of surveillance and control of families, issues that are often overlooked in nursing research. (shrink)

Robert Castel is an eminent figure in the social sciences because of his innovative contributions to various social and health fields. The seminal work of this poststructuralist author and social activist has influenced several research disciplines, but has not yet had a significant impact on nursing. In this article, we will present the thinking of this man, who considered himself a sociologist, philosopher and “historian of the present.” We will examine the most important issues he explored during his career, including (...) the psychiatric apparatus, the management of risk and the social vulnerability. We believe that this thinker's perspective on diverse social issues is very relevant to nursing practice and research and to the health sciences in general. The concepts he developed and utilized with finesse provide us with a critical reading of many contemporary health issues, particularly in mental health and psychiatric nursing. Castel's critical and engaged approach incites mobilization for social justice and greater protections for marginalized and vulnerable persons. These principles of advocacy and social justice are also at the heart of the nursing profession. (shrink)