The 21st century psychiatrists need to reestablish their identity as healers of the human psyche and not just pill pushers

In his book “Unhinged: The Trouble with Psychiatry—A Doctor’s Revelations about a Profession”, Daniel Carlit, describes his motivation to pursue a career in psychiatry to be related to the tragic death of his mother who committed suicide as a result of her depression. So he went on and graduated from medical school and completed his psychiatry residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, which is the main affiliate of Harvard Medical School. After completing his residency, he, like most psychiatrists of his generation, specialized in psychopharmacology, where he spent 15 to 20 minute medication visits prescribing psychotropic medications to his patients. Over the past few decades, beginning in 1992, following the introduction of the second generation antidepressant fluoxetine (Prozac®) psychiatrists in the US have devoted most of their time to prescribing medications while referring their patients to other mental health professionals for psychotherapy and counseling. As a result the general public and the mass media began and continue to portray psychiatrists exclusively as pill pushers, who have abandoned the need to understand and connect with their patients ‘ most inner being ,and their psyche. The purpose of this commentary is twofold: First is to review some of the factors that influenced psychiatrists to limit their profession to prescribing psychotropic medications. Second, to reemphasize the identity of psychiatrists as physicians who collaborate and combine the benefits of psychotherapy, social and spiritual interventions with medications to practice their time honored mission of restoring and healing the human psyche from the suffering and pain that are inflicted by mental illness. Correspondence to: Hani Raoul Khouzam, MD; MPH; FAPA, Department of Psychiatry, One Medical Center Drive Lebanon, NH 03756-0001, USA; Tel: 603 650 6188; 559 930 6406; E-mail: Hani.R.Khouzam@hitchcock.org