The limits of psychiatry

doi:10.1136/bmj.324.7342.900

BMJ 2002;324:900-904 ( 13 April )

Education and debate

The limits of psychiatry

Duncan Double, consultant psychiatrist.

Norfolk Mental Health Care NHS Trust, Carrobreck, Norwich NR6 5BE

dbdouble@dbdouble.co.uk

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Much of the expansion of psychiatry in the past few decades has been based on a biomedical model that encourages drug treatmentto be seen as a panacea for multiple problems. Psychiatrist DuncanDouble is sceptical of this approach and suggests that psychiatryshould temper and complement a biological view with psychologicaland social understanding, thus recognising the uncertainties ofclinical practice

The increasing accountability of doctors following the deaths of children in the Bristol Royal Infirmary's paediatric cardiacsurgical unit has focused attention on the foundations of medicalpractice. Ian Kennedy, who chaired the Bristol inquiry,¹ providesa direct link with earlier cultural critics of medicine $---$ such asIvan Illich $---$ in his Reith lectures in 1980 about "unmasking" medicine.²

Illich made specific comments about psychiatry in his critique of medicalisation and the limits to medicine.³ He attendedthe 1977 world federation for mental health conference in Vancouver,Canada, where he debated . . . [Full text of this article]

CiteULike

Complore

Connotea

Del.icio.us Add to Digg

Digg

StumbleUpon Add to Technorati

Technorati What's this?

Relevant Articles

Cannabis and psychosis: Let's start from the null hypothesis: D B Double
BMJ 2006 332: 303. [Extract] [Full Text]

Suspension of doctors: Medical suspensions may have ideological nature: D B Double
BMJ 2004 328: 709-710. [Extract] [Full Text]

The limits of psychiatry: Larry Culliford and Robert H Chaplin
BMJ 2002 324: 1523. [Extract] [Full Text]

The time has come for "post-psychiatry"
BMJ 2002 324: 0. [Full Text]

This article has been cited by other articles:

Fawcett, B. (2009). Vulnerability: Questioning the certainties in social work and health. International Social Work 52: 473-484 [Abstract]
Double, D B (2006). Cannabis and psychosis: let's start from the null hypothesis.. BMJ 332: 303-303 [Full text]
Walker, P., Haeney, O. G., Naik, P. C. (2005). Attitudes to referral to community mental health teams: a questionnaire study. Psychiatr. Bull. 29: 213-214 [Abstract] [Full text]
Thomas, P., Bracken, P. (2004). Critical psychiatry in practice. Adv. Psychiatr. Treat. 10: 361-370 [Abstract] [Full text]
Thomas, P., Cahill, A. B (2004). Compulsion and psychiatry--the role of advance statements. BMJ 329: 122-123 [Full text]
Double, D. B., Taylor, E. (2004). Meanings and causes in ADHD * Author's reply. Br. J. Psychiatry 184: 453-454 [Full text]
Double, D B (2004). Suspension of doctors: Medical suspensions may have ideological nature. BMJ 328: 709-710 [Full text]
Cooper, R. A. (2003). Where Is Psychiatry Going and Who Is Going There?. Acad. Psychiatry 27: 229-234 [Full text]
Bridgett, C., Polak, P. (2003). Social systems intervention and crisis resolution. Part 1: Assessment. Adv. Psychiatr. Treat. 9: 424-431 [Abstract] [Full text]
Davies, T. (2003). Review: day hospital is not more effective than inpatient care but is associated with modest cost savings in acute psychiatric disorders. Evid. Based Med. 8: 127-127 [Full text]
Hazemeijer, I., Rasker, J. J. (2003). Fibromyalgia and the therapeutic domain. A philosophical study on the origins of fibromyalgia in a specific social setting. Rheumatology (Oxford) 42: 507-515 [Abstract] [Full text]
Cohen, C. I. (2002). Economic Grand Rounds: Social Inequality and Health: Will Psychiatry Assume Center Stage?. Psychiatr. Serv. 53: 937-939 [Full text]
Tiner, R., Edwards, L., Jacobs, A., Sambrook, P., Stenmark, J., Karmali, J., Anderson, M., Karasz, A., Lurie, P., McKechnie, S., Moncrieff, J., Thomas, P., Moynihan, R., Heath, I., Henry, D. (2002). The pharmaceutical industry and disease mongering. BMJ 325: 216-216 [Full text]
Culliford, L., Chaplin, R. H (2002). The limits of psychiatry. BMJ 324: 1523-1523 [Full text]
Moynihan, R., Smith, R. (2002). Too much medicine?. BMJ 324: 859-860 [Full text]

Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

Time to listen to other truths: Sylvia Caras
bmj.com, 13 Apr 2002 [Full text]
A True Understanding of DSM-IV: Arthur Rifkin, MD
bmj.com, 13 Apr 2002 [Full text]
Is depression a "disease"? And what about chronic fatigue syndrome?: Constantinos Paschalides
bmj.com, 14 Apr 2002 [Full text]
Re: A True Understanding of DSM-IV: Chris L. Manning
bmj.com, 15 Apr 2002 [Full text]
Dangerous severe personality disorder: Robert H Chaplin
bmj.com, 16 Apr 2002 [Full text]
Re: 'Non-Diseases'.: Tom McGlynn
bmj.com, 16 Apr 2002 [Full text]
Post-psychiatry is a useful protest but does not provide an alternative: Riadh T. Abed, et al.
bmj.com, 18 Apr 2002 [Full text]
What is the biomedical model?: Shahid H Zaman
bmj.com, 19 Apr 2002 [Full text]
Author's reply to Rapid Responses: Duncan B Double, et al.
bmj.com, 24 Apr 2002 [Full text]
Psychospirituality: Larry Culliford
bmj.com, 25 Apr 2002 [Full text]
Post-Psychiatry: Science or Hermeneutics?: Riadh T. Abed
bmj.com, 29 Apr 2002 [Full text]
Re: Critical Psychiatry: Science and Hermeneutics: Duncan Double, et al.
bmj.com, 9 May 2002 [Full text]
Re: Re: 'Non-Diseases'.: Janet L Hutchison
bmj.com, 22 May 2002 [Full text]
Double deviates from the norm: Chris M Bowker
bmj.com, 17 Jun 2002 [Full text]
I applaud Dr. Duncan Double.: Dr. Terry D. Lynch
bmj.com, 18 Jun 2002 [Full text]
Post-post-psychiatry: Michael J Smith
bmj.com, 24 Jul 2002 [Full text]
Re: Post-post-psychiatry and eclecticism: D B Double
bmj.com, 31 Jul 2002 [Full text]