Ethical issues in psychiatry

Psychiatry, for a variety of historical reasons, has come to be associated with general medicine, an, for over hundred years, has been firn-dy entrenched within the medical model. Consequently mental illness is construed as a disease, which like any other physical disease may have an organic, biological, genetic, or neurological origin. A psychiatric disorder therefore needs to be treated like any other physical disease or illness, with drugs, surgery, and other forms of physical interventions. The disease model of psychiatry has been seriously questioned, criticised and to a large extent invalidated. But it persists. Psychiatrists have displayed remarkable tenacity in clinging to the medical model, which is in insurgent need of a paradigm shift. Why the existing medical models of psychiatry have not been replaced by other model(s) of mental disorders shall be examined. It should be recognised that psychiatry, not unlike psychoanalysis and clinical psychology, is concerned with helping individuals to alleviate their pain, suffering, and distress. As a human enterprise therefore, it raises the highest ethical considerations. This paper will critically examine the ethical issues pertaining to psychiatry.