309 - Does Psychiatry have a Split Personality?

A psychiatrist and two psychologists debate the extent to which psychoanalysis, or “talk therapy,” has been supplanted by pharmaceutical solutions in treating most psychiatric problems, including depression and anxiety.  All express concern about ignoring the benefits of talk therapy, especially at a time when depression is on the rise and has a ten percent suicide rate.  They also highlight the causes for this trend, from HMOs’ desire to keep treatment costs down to the pharmaceutical industry’s need to generate profits.  The outlook is hopeful that new brain imaging techniques will lead to a greater understanding of mental illnesses yielding more comprehensive, sophisticated, and effective therapies.