Interview with Joseph D. Bloom, M.D.

Scope and content:

In the interview Dr. Bloom discusses his career, his interest in the topic of abuse of psychiatry and his involvement in the 1989 U.S. State Department psychiatric delegation to the U.S.S.R. He talks about the U.S. and Soviet (both Soviet professionals and Soviet interviewees) understanding of the purpose of the visit and the Soviet's compliance with the terms negotiated for the visit. He also talks about psychiatric hospitalization, detention and commitment process in the U.S.S.R., conditions of hospitalization in Soviet psychiatric hospitals and the legal rights of persons with mental disorders in the U.S.S.R. Dr. Bloom's explains his impressions from the trip to the Soviet Union and the conclusions made by the American delegation.

The highlights of the interview pertain to Dr. Bloom's recollection of a Soviet person who allegedly had a mental disorder, and his opinion as to the way the American final report should have been approached.

Olena Protsenko, a Post-doctoral Research Associate in Psychiatry and Law at the University of Virginia School of Law, conducted this interview remotely over the Zoom application.

Language:

English

Biographical / historical:

Dr. Joseph D. Bloom was one of the few forensic psychiatrists on the 1989 U.S. Department of State Delegation to the Soviet Union to investigate the abuse of psychiatry. Bloom is Dean Emeritus of the Oregon Health and Science University and Clinical Professor at the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Arizona Fenix College of Medicine.

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