Psychiatric reform in Navarre: 20 years on

Abstract

This article provides a brief description and some reflections on the history of what is commonly called the psychiatric “reform” in Navarre. The aim is not to set out numerical data (and much less of an exhaustive character), but rather to emphasise the key events of that reform, and to perhaps offer an interpretation of the spirit that underlay the changes. Without doubt, there will be a degree of subjectivity in the choice of the aspects dealt with here and there are other dynamics and actions that are very influential. The choice has been motivated by consideration of what I have been closest to, what I have been most concerned with, and, of course, what has seemed most relevant. Nor does the cited bibliography attempt to be exhaustive, nor does it contain all the important works, only those that have served to support this text.