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Has Psychiatry Gone too Far? Has it Gone Far Enough?

Psychiatry is widely recognized as a science. It is a medical field that is sort of a weird cousin to general medical practice and surgery. Much of psychiatry has been scientifically grounded, researched and normalized. Yet, there is a great deal of psychiatry that appears to be blurred and misunderstood. Where are the lines that determine the boundaries of psychiatry? When is a problem medical and when is it social? Are there any disturbances of the mind that should not be addressed within the field of psychiatry? We will discuss here the real and perceived limits as well as the potential mistakes that are currently of concern in the field of psychiatry.

The Lines and the Blurry Edges

There are many, many recognized psychiatric disorders. These disorders may or may not have prescribed treatments associated with them. If they are not currently treatable, you can bet that there is research going on to discover the best methods of treatment for those disorders. The disorders become recognized through thorough scientific testing and observation. These disorders make up the lines in psychiatry. There are diagnostic tests to discover the presence of, or the lack of, a disorder. And yet, the patients that have actual, documented disorders are not the only ones seen in a psychiatrist's office.

Beginning with Freud, people have discovered the relief in being able to take advantage of the knowledge of a mental health professional in order to take a trip of self-discovery. Difficulties in the mind, whether they be social, personal or professional, exist for everyone. Not every imperfection in thought or mood requires psychiatric attention, but both doctors and patients have ignored conventions of science and continued on through dim explorations into emotions and thoughts. There is no scientific basis for psychiatric work in many cases, but it continues nonetheless.

To Pathologize or Not to Pathologize

When speaking in this manner, it is important to realize the indication of seeing a psychiatrist for mental troubles rather than seeing a psychologist or counselor. It is normal to seek help for everyday stresses and difficulties coping with life. Once a patient obtains a diagnosis from a psychiatrist though, his difficulties have become more. Pathology is a medically diagnosed mental disorder. Psychiatrists are medical doctors who specialize in the mind. In order to set up regular visits with a medical physician, a patient must have some medically identifiable disease. Cancers, broken bones and high blood pressure all qualify a patient for multiple visits with specific attention from the doctor. Psychiatry works much the same way. Just as a typical headache or stomachache does not qualify for medical treatment, many psychological distresses, in the opinion of some, do not qualify for psychiatric treatment.

Even so, people do go to the doctor for headaches and stomachaches and they are not turned away. Regardless of the current psychiatric situation, it seems that no one party is to blame for over-diagnosis or for blurred lines of scientific diagnosis. Surely psychiatrists make more money and patients get more sympathy with the current state of affairs. And who knows? Maybe every human idiosyncrasy can be scientifically understood, pathologized and treated. Maybe psychiatry has not yet gone far enough and is still just developing. Either way, medical fields will always be subject to disapproval as they continue to change, for better or worse.

Shorter, Edward. A History of Psychiatry: From the Era of the Asylum to the Age of Prozac. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1997.