Danger to freedom from the helping professions: psychiatry, psychology and social work

Psychiatry, psychology and social work should serve as enhancers of freedom, but in certain circumstances they constitute a danger to the freedom of individuals and groups in society. Psychiatrists in the Soviet Union have served as punishers of dissent, and others, in various parts of the world, have been involved in abuses of psychosurgery. Psychologists have participated in dubious uses of aversion therapy and have applied their scientific knowledge to designing and implementing advanced torture techniques. Those psychiatrists and psychologists who sell their skills to the highest bidder, without regard for humankind, are termed PSYCHOCRATS. Social work does not constitute a direct danger to freedom but has generally failed to act as an enhancer of freedom for the poor and powerless.