Physical medicine has a body of normal findings that make possible the
definition of disease states. The routine procedures of psychiatry do not
include any such tests of health. As a result, the psychiatric concept of
illness has no stable base from which specific conditions can be described.
The author suggests two human capacities, connectedness and
self-protectiveness, that can be assessed by the psychiatrist in attempting
to evaluate the patient's overall psychological health.Abstract Teaser