Developing Unbiased Diagnostic and Treatment Guidelines in Psychiatry

To the Editor: In 1984, the Journal was one of the first medical journals to establish a policy requiring disclosure of financial interests for all authors of research articles. During the past 25 years, all medical specialties have been grappling with how best to manage conflicts of interest. Today, the field of psychiatry is perceived to have suffered a unique “crisis of credibility” with respect to the growing influence of pharmaceutical companies on organized psychiatry.1 The reaction of the organization that is increasingly in question, the American Psychiatric Association (APA), has ranged from calling for greater transparency — mandating that . . .