The future of psychiatry

Abstract

The author reviews the vicissitudes of psychiatry's history over the past 50 years and urges the profession to abandon false boundaries between mind and brain and to make a commitment to the scientific validation of prevailing theories of the etiology of psychiatric disorders. He argues that the separation of psychiatry and neurology is no longer justified. He calls instead for a carefully conceived new career path leading to specialization in clinical neuroscience and further urges that psychiatric training programs be restructured to focus on the critical examination of problem solving and validation methods.