[Consciousness of the patient in hospital psychiatry]

In this paper the author outlines the development of ideas in the field of psychiatry related to the way a patient can face his illness. He relates how the concept of craziness was progressively replaced by this of mental illness and how this last concept was no more synonymous of déraison. As a matter of fact the patient has become able to talk about the morbid process which is overwhelming him. The author lists some factors that are supposed to influence the way a patient situates himself toward his illness. Finally, a not sophisticated clinical scale is presented in order to assess the hospitalized psychiatric patient's attitude toward his illness.