Psychiatry in everyday medical practice.

Abstract

The general practitioner's awareness of the psychotherapeutic aspects of every doctor-patient transaction would allow him more effectively to apply the principles of preventive psychiatry to his everyday medical practice. The experience of one physician's practice is drawn upon to demonstrate how some of Balint's techniques apply to cases in general practice. The categorization of presenting complaints into “no illness situation,” “unorganized illness,” or “organized illness” helps the physician to make distinctions between “traditional diagnosis” and “overall diagnosis.” This method is illustrated with several case examples showing how the physician helped the patient to move from a narrow physical focus to an exploration of broader emotional problems.