PERSPECTIVE article
Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Public Mental Health
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1616276
Psychiatry in the real world
Provisionally accepted
- Independent researcher, Athens, Greece
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Although diagnostic and therapeutic issues are relatively settled in formal psychiatry, there is considerable confusion among the public. In the real world, there is notable misunderstanding of terminology and concepts, not only of diagnoses and treatments, but also of the titles and characteristics of mental health professionals and institutions. Each patient must choose his or her own treatment from among an infinite number of treatment options, provided by an infinite number of therapists, coming from various known and unknown theoretical and therapeutic fields. As a result, psychiatric patients often receive incorrect or incomplete treatments and are faced with chronicity of the disease, exploitation and poverty. The high mental and physical comorbidity of psychiatric cases further exacerbates this situation. We are looking for a psychiatry that will be at the center of the mental health system, having the obligation to constantly regulate the flow of cases, depending on their needs. Psychiatry is grounded in clinical neuroscience. We are looking for psychiatry that will be constantly updated and will apply the valuable knowledge of neuroscience, at a research, diagnostic and therapeutic level. Also, psychiatry that will refer and collaborate closely with other medical specialties, as well with non-medical accredited mental health professionals. In parallel, psychiatry must envision, plan and supervise the development of scientifically based psychosocial rehabilitation programs. The stakeholders involved should promote the view of a medico-social approach to mental disorders, centered on formal diagnosis and treatment by professionals, with the aim of providing safe, continuous and complete care for patients.
Keywords: Psychiatry, Mental Health, therapy, diagnosis, Neuroscience, Clinical Neuroscience
Received: 22 Apr 2025; Accepted: 30 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Giotakos. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Orestis Giotakos, Independent researcher, Athens, Greece
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