Discernement, lucidité, conscience et insight en psychopathologie et en pratique expertale

Abstract: Insight is a polysemic word coming from the English language. It has been used for a long time by psychoanalysts and from now on in clinical psychiatry. The insight rating scales explore diverse aspects of the awareness of having a mental disorder and the need to be treated. For many decades, meetings and publications on this topic can be found in the Annales Médico-Psychologiques (cf. the meeting of March 2002). The new trends try to fragment and quantify the diverse dimensions of consciousness, awareness and insight. To be rigorous insight should be defined by the items, the score, and types of such or such rating scale. French psychiatric experts are required by legal regulations to assess the “discernement” of indicted persons (offence and crime) (article 122-1 of Code penal). Otherwise insight rating scales are useful for diagnosis, follow up, and to improve therapeutic alliance and compliance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]