Encompassing sexual medicine within psychiatry: pros and cons.
OBJECTIVE
This article examines the positive and negative aspects of psychiatry encompassing sexual medicine within its purview.


METHODS
MEDLINE searches for the period between 1980 to the present were performed with the terms "psychiatry," "sexual medicine," and "sexual dysfunction." In addition, sexual medicine texts were reviewed for chapters relevant to this topic.


RESULTS
Psychiatry, the only medical discipline trained to integrate both biological and psychological factors in making treatment decisions, has been minimally involved in the evolution of the multidisciplinary field known as sexual medicine.


CONCLUSIONS
If psychiatry is to maintain a role in the diagnosis and treatment of sexual disorders, it is critical that its training programs include training in sexual medicine.
Segraves
Robert Taylor
RT
Department of Psychiatry at MetroHealth in Cleveland, Ohio 44109, USA. rsegraves@metrohealth.org
D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000193:education; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D012735:Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D020018:Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy