Professional and Community: Pathways Toward Trust
FREDERIC W. ILFELD JR. M.D.1, and
ERICH LINDEMANN M.D., PH.D.2
1 Research Psychiatrist, Laboratory of Socioenvironmental Studies, National Institute of Mental Health
2 Professor Emeritus of Social Psychiatry, Stanford Medical Center, Stanford, Calif.
Mutual trust between professionals and community spokesmen is a critical but relatively ignored issue in community mental health. The more usual pathways toward trust are professional-community relationships of paternalism, co-optation, and collaboration. Failing these, the authors propose an alternative pathway whereby the health professional joins an existing indigenous community organization and follows the policies and directives of its leaders. Indications and contraindications for embarking on this alternative pathway and the various difficulties encountered in this novel role are considered.
