Responsiveness to Resentment: Psychiatric Care and the Problem of Ethical Loneliness

The Open Paradigm Project is an initiative devoted to sharing the stories of persons who have been harmed and/or disserved while receiving psychiatric care. In these first-person accounts, participants detail their grief, disdain, anger, apprehen- sion, and frustration as they reflect on their treatment experiences. This article argues that they possess legitimate claims of ‘resentment’ that warrant acknowledgment and reparation, as evidenced by the insufficient credibility of experts and coercive regu- lation of atypical patients. Moreover, it contends that biomedicalization, which is not only an empirical process but a moral discourse, unjustifiably nullifies the testimonies of subjected patients and thus perpetuates epistemic injustices as well as physical injuries. I implement a critical ethics of care to consider the normative conditions of responsiveness while also evaluating ongoing problems like ‘ethical loneliness’ and ‘medical gaslighting.’ As illustrated in The Open Paradigm Project, certain para- digms of care can be used to sustain marginalization by blurring the boundaries of treatment, fostering abandonment, and dismissing critiques of authority. These are keen lessons that apply far beyond the scope of psychiatric settings.