An early career psychiatrist perspective on the future of psychiatry: retaining our roots in times of growth

Psychiatry is a discipline emergent from parts of other disciplines. This places it in a precarious position in society. Its practitioners must work with great uncertainty, formulate complex problems and respond to issues that fall outside the scope of other disciplines. Knowledge is always being added across psychiatry's biopsychosocial domains, and its purpose is constantly evolving in response to shifting societal perspectives on its role. Change in the coming decades will span data and knowledge, contexts of care, roles and relationships, as well as treatment advances. These changes will not manifest as obvious examples of linear progress, but instead as twists and turns characterised by rejections and revisions of ideas. This paper aims to explore how early career psychiatrists might navigate such changes by drawing on the enduring core skills and contributions of psychiatry. In doing this, one realises that while there may be observable differences in 30 years' time, at a deeper level, much may remain the same. This is not a pessimistic view, but instead one of optimism which highlights the continuous value psychiatry in the complex terrain of mental health care amongst its many other practitioners, systems and structures. In times of growth, our roots will be our guide.