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- Not to be confused with psychology
Psychiatry is a field which is concerned with the analysis and treatment of mental health disorders. It is treated as a medical specialty by governments, psychiatrist institutions, medical schools and pharmaceutical companies.[1]
Psychiatrists are doctors that have the ability to diagnose people with mental disorders. They have graduated from medical school and chose to specialise in psychiatry after their residency (in-person training in a hospital or clinic for a few years). This can make them quite different to psychotherapists (a more general term usually given to clinical psychologists), but allows them to prescribe medication.
History[edit | edit source]
Bethlehem Royal Hospital, the first psychiatric institution in the world, formed in 1377.
Nazi Germany[edit | edit source]
Psychiatry was a tool used in Nazi Germany to justify the mass extermination of disabled people.[2]
Formation of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual[edit | edit source]
The first version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) was formed in 1952 by the American Psychiatric Association. The DSM is currently on its fifth version, released in 2013. While it is mostly meant for the USA, psychiatrist associations the world over use it as an official guide to diagnose.
Criticism[edit | edit source]
Anti-psychiatry movement[edit | edit source]
See main article: Anti-psychiatry
Psychiatry is denounced as a pseudoscience by some anti-psychiatry advocates and physicians, such as Peter Gøtzsche.[3][4]
Connections to pharmacy industry[edit | edit source]
Psychiatry is highly connected to the pharmaceutical industry.
In 2008 APA was the focus of congressional investigations on how pharmaceutical industry money shapes the practices of nonprofit organizations that purport to be independent. The drug industry accounted in 2006 for about 30 percent of the association's $62.5 million in financing, half through drug advertisements in its journals and meeting exhibits, and the other half sponsoring fellowships, conferences and industry symposiums at its annual meeting.[5]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Renato D. Alarcón (2016-5-20). "Psychiatry and Its Dichotomies" Psychiatric Times. Retrieved 2022-9-6.
- ↑ Rael D Strous. Psychiatry during the Nazi era: ethical lessons for the modern professional. Annals of General Psychiatry. doi: 10.1186/1744-859X-6-8 [HUB]
- ↑ Peter C. Gøtzsche (2015). Deadly Psychiatry and Organised Denial. People's Press. ISBN 978-87-7159-623-6
- ↑ Peter C. Gøtzsche (2013). Deadly Medicines and Organised Crime: How Big Pharma Has Corrupted Healthcare. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781846198847
- ↑ Benedict Carey, Gardiner Harris (2008-07-12). "Psychiatric Group Faces Scrutiny Over Drug Industry Ties" The New York Times.