Psychiatrists should be trained or expert in interventions for all types of mental illness. We can't undercut the psychiatrist as the person who gives the overview to the problem. Psychiatrists are responsible for a certain amount of standard setting in psychotherapy, and some psychiatrists believe that without their presence in the field, the overall quality of psychotherapy may suffer. Psychotherapy poorly done can be as harmful as medication incorrectly administered. My basic criticism is that, in approaching the field in a biopsychosocial manner, they have overexpressed the biological and understated the psychosocial part of the model.
Many psychiatrists feel that drastic accommodations to managed care changes have already been made.
Harold Pincus, M.D., says that surveys of practitioners show that psychiatrists already treat more severely mentally disordered patients, as well as patients with general medical conditions and health problems. Across all different levels, the New Yorker cartoon image of the psychiatrist as the guy who takes care of a Woody Allen character is outdated. Psychiatry is not the same field it was 20, or even 10 years ago, according to Pardes. And part of the field's strength may be an improved image-a force that can make a positive difference in people's everyday lives. I think that, if anything, psychiatry is better positioned than it was 20 years ago.