On what basis should we select treatment in clinical psychiatry: a question too obvious to ask?. (April 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Restifo, Sam; Tan, Lemuel Y H
• Is Part Of: Australasian psychiatry. Volume 28:Number 2(2020:Apr.)
• Page Start: 202
• Page End: 205
• Publication Date: 2020-04
• Subjects: treatment planning -- diagnosis -- formulation -- problem list -- contextual factors; Psychiatry -- Australasia -- Periodicals; Psychiatry -- Periodicals; 616.89005
• DOI: 10.1177/1039856219875060
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1039-8562

Abstract

Objective: Given the differences between our profession and the broader set of medical disciplines, a review of the factors to be considered in treatment planning was conducted. Conclusion: Treatment planning in psychiatry is inherently more complicated than in other medical disciplines for various reasons including: a broader range of conceptual models of mental illness and treatment; greater complexities around nosology and diagnosis; the greater limitations of the research evidence base and clinical practice guidelines; and the more substantial impacts of patients' subjectivity and contextual aspects. Diagnosis is generally neither a sufficient nor necessarily the most useful criterion for treatment planning in psychiatry, with a number of other considerations to help guide treatment being outlined.