Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Email this article to a Colleague Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to My Articles & Searches Download to citation manager Citing Articles via Google Scholar Articles by IVANY, C. G. Search for Related Content PubMed Citation Articles by IVANY, C. G. General Topics in Psychiatry

Explanatory Pluralism and Patchy Reductionism

To the Editor: A major hurdle for clinicians regularly engaging in the critical reductionist approach advocated by Kenneth S. Kendler, M.D. (1), is our own method of diagnosing psychiatric problems, embodied in the DSM-IV-TR. This approach consists of grouping symptoms and applying a label. Purely phenomenalistic, it makes no mention of the underlying causes of those symptoms—whether they are biological, psychological, or social. We must remember that in psychiatry, unlike most other fields of medicine, a diagnosis represents the beginning of the assessment of a patient, not the end. Successful treatment is based on an explanation of the biopsychosocial factors that make up a diagnosis, not only on the diagnosis itself.

Reference

1. Kendler KS: Toward a philosophical structure for psychiatry. Am J Psychiatry 2005; 162:433–440[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Email this article to a Colleague Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to My Articles & Searches Download to citation manager Citing Articles via Google Scholar Articles by IVANY, C. G. Search for Related Content PubMed Citation Articles by IVANY, C. G. General Topics in Psychiatry

Get information about faster international access.

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2005 American Psychiatric Association. All rights reserved.

Home | Search | Current Issue | Past Issues | Subscribe | All APPI Journals | Help | Contact Us