Untangling Psychology from Biology in the Treatment of Psychiatric Disorders

Due to the lack of a clear distinction between mentally-driven psychiatric symptoms and neurologically-driven psychiatric symptoms, determining which patients would best be treated with psychotherapy, which patients would best be treated with pharmacotherapy, and which patients would best be treated with both is a challenge that every behavioral health clinician faces. In an effort to overcome this challenge, this article will discuss the anatomical and functional relationship between the mind and the brain as it relates to the various treatment options that are currently available and introduce a groundbreaking new paradigm that is destined to transform the treatment of mental illness from a symptom-based practice to a pathology-based practice. In addition to putting the assessment and treatment of mental illness on par with other medication specialties, the new paradigm ushers in the first objective way to distinguish biologically-based psychiatric symptoms from psychologically-based psychiatric symptoms. This is of critical importance because it has the potential streamline treatment, better define the target for treatment, and more accurately inform the planning of treatment. It also has the potential to improve patient education and treatment outcomes by better explaining how psychotherapy works, how pharmacotherapy works, and how these two treatment modalities can complement or, in some cases, antagonize each other. Beyond all of these advantages, the new paradigm offers the potential to ward off psychiatric symptoms before they even begin. With the prevalence of psychiatric and substance use disorders at epidemic proportions, these long-awaited advances could not be more timely.