title: Welcome biological breakthroughs, supply psychosocial insights.
abstract: Human behaviour, emotions, and cognition are complex to understand and explain. It is even more difficult to understand the basis for abnormal behaviour, disturbed emotions, and impaired cognitions, something mental health professionals are trying for long. In these pursuits, psychiatry has traversed through eras of humours, witchcraft, spirits, psychoanalysis, and gradually deviated from other medical specialities. Now, with recent biological breakthroughs like advances in psychopharmacology, neuroimaging and genetics, increasingly more emphasis is being given to the biological model of psychiatric disorders. These new biological models have given a more scientific appearance to the speciality. It has also revolutionised the management strategies and outcome of many psychiatric disorders. However, this rapid development in biological understanding of psychiatry also leads to a new wave of reductionism. In an attempt to deduce everything in terms of neurons, neurochemicals, and genes, can we neglect psychosocial aspects of mental health? Patients' personality, expectations, motives, family background, sociocultural backgrounds continue to affect mental health no matter how much 'biological' psychiatry gets. Biological and psychosocial approaches are not mutually exclusive but complementary. Integrating them harmoniously is the skill psychiatry demands for comprehensive understanding of mental and behavioural disorders.
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Navodaya Medical College, Raichur, Karnataka - 584 121, India.
authors.forename: Bheemsain
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tekkalaki
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, King George Medical University, Lucknow - 226 003, Uttar Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Adarsh
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tripathi
authors.affiliation: Late Hon. Member WPA, Professor & Ex. Head, Department of Psychiatry, King George Medical University, Lucknow - 226 003, Uttar Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: J K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Trivedi
keywords: Aetiology; Biological psychiatry; Psychosocial; Reductionist approach