Abstract
This article provides a conceptual overview of the medical model and its application to psychiatry, understanding the medical model in psychiatry as a biopsychosocial model. The article discusses basic concepts relevant to the medical model (illness, disease, disorder, condition, etc.), the nature of medical knowledge and diagnostic construct, medical classifications in psychiatry, and the medical model within multidisciplinary practice. Salient criticisms of the medical model are discussed and addressed at relevant points. It is recognized that concepts such as disease and illness lack uncontested definitions and are not free from value judgements even in general medicine. Diagnostic constructs used in psychiatry are often descriptive heterogenous categories which can nonetheless offer clinical utility. The medical model co-exists with non-medical approaches and perspectives, and psychiatrists work in an interdisciplinary context with other models and professionals. Criticism of the medical model in psychiatry often fail to recognize the continuities between psychiatry and the rest of medicine, and the persistence of these controversies may be a result of fundamental disagreement over values.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
