Am J Psychiatry 1996; 153:1388-1397
Copyright © 1996 by American Psychiatric Association
Redefining the role of psychiatry in medicine
JA Lieberman and AJ Rush
Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 27599-7160, USA.
OBJECTIVE: The authors evaluate the forces that are changing psychiatric
practice and propose options for redefining the clinical and educational
goals of psychiatry within medicine. METHOD: An overview of current
external and internal forces shaping psychiatry is provided. These forces
are both social, political, and economic (external) and scientific and
technological (internal). RESULTS: The convergence of these forces leads to
recommendations for redefining psychiatric practice and education. If
psychiatry fails to redefine itself on the basis of its scientific
foundations, political and economic forces may lead to an untenable
redefinition that could threaten the field. CONCLUSIONS: The redefinition
process may lead to altered roles and somewhat different knowledge bases
for psychiatry. The profession must choose whether to be reactive or
proactive given this challenge.
