CAPA had adopted the attrition model of psychiatry abolition as articulated by Burstow (2010). While committed to nothing less than the complete abolition of psychiatry, the attrition model assumes that nothing as complex and as entrenched as psychiatry can be abolished over night. Rather it depends on gradual erosion, wearing down, or attrition. Correspondingly, the model provides three questions for organizations to use as touchstones to ensure that they are moving in the right direction.
- If successful, will the actions or campaigns that we are contemplating move us closer to the long range goal of psychiatry abolition?
- Are they likely to avoid improving or giving added legitimacy to the current system?
- Do they avoid “widening” psychiatry’s net?
For more information, please see Burstow’s description of the model here.
Coalition Against Psychiatric Assault 