[Empowerment as a goal of social psychiatric endeavour]

Empowerment is a new concept that has found its way via recognition in liberation theology and feminist movement, in to varied disciplines ranging from psychiatry and psychology through philosophy to political science. Empowerment claims to be both a multi-dimensional and multi-level concept. It can take different forms and its relevance reaches from the individual over organisations to larger systems. In psychiatry empowerment is a Successful self enabling strategy. The boundaries and limitations of its methods must, however, be respected as not every affected person is in a position at all times of using it.