Consultation-liaison psychiatry: the past and the present

Abstract

Consultation-liaison (C-L) psychiatry a subspecialty in psychiatry is referred to as the guardian of the psychological and holistic approach to patient. It has been undergoing rapid changes especially in the developed countries but its practice is strongly affected by stigma and negative attitude by professional colleagues. In this review, it is recommended that C-L psychiatry must not be restricted to conspicuous acute psychiatric disorders alone but must have impact across the whole of medical care. C-L psychiatrists ever than before must not only concentrate on managing psychotic patients but must strive to maintain intellectual and clinical leadership for the psychological system in its entirety. There is yet more to be done in the area of research and campaign against stigmatization.