Final conclusions

Abstract

The medical model in mental health uses diagnostic constructs with attached useful information (e.g. on prognosis or response to treatments) that often identifies areas of spectrums rather than diseases or syndromes. Diagnostic constructs in psychiatry and general medicine overlap for attributes such as clinical utility (e.g. predicting likely outcomes), validity (e.g. whether boundaries exist between different diagnostic constructs), and importance of social factors. There is an overlap in effectiveness between psychiatric and general medicine treatments, and many general medicine medications do not reverse disease processes. Describing the nature of diagnostic constructs can be done by describing the basis of classification and nature of the classified condition. Different mental health classifications have particular strengths and weaknesses for clinical, research, and social functions. Research in mental health may need classifications other than diagnosis to improve understanding of causes and mechanisms and also to develop better diagnostic constructs. As doctors in all specialties will encounter mental health problems there will always be psychiatric diagnostic constructs compatible with their training. The medical model of mental health allows doctors to assess and offer effective treatments to large numbers of patients and provide emergency cover. Mental health research and service provision will always need to address psychosocial issues.