Exploring the Role of Psychotropic Drugs in Psychiatric Diagnosis: An Actor-Network Perspective

Abstract

This article examines the production of psychiatric diagnosis in biomedicine, because studies, especially empirical ones in this field, have attracted little attention from researchers. The widely accepted assertion that diagnosis is the result of clinical judgment will be discussed. Through a case study carried out in a hospital in Barcelona, ​​we will propose that psychiatric diagnosis is not only the result of a clinical judgment, but also of a psychopharmacological translation. Using actor-network theory and the notion of boundary objects developed by Star and Griesemer (1989), we maintain that psychotropic drugs as boundary objects act as central mediators in knowledge management, establishing the semiotic-material assembly of the diagnosis.