Copyright © Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited. Psychiatry for the person John L. Cox a,b,c and Alison J. Gray d Introduction: questions but few answers Searching questions are being asked by psychiatrists at the present time about the future of the specialty and the identity of the psychiatrist. Forty leading psychiatrists have issued a ‘Wake-up call for British Psychiatry’ [1  ]. They were concerned that the diagnostic approach to patient care (the medical model), the ability to treat comorbid physical illnesses, and the provision of medical treatments based on clear and accurate diagnosis, were each at risk of serious atrophy, and that patient care was being jeopardized. In reply Tyrer [2] considered reaching for a ‘snooze alarm’, but instead recalled the effectiveness of placebos, the improved multiprofessional community services and the prospect of increased access to psychological therapy. ‘What is the heartland of psychiatry?’ asked Goodwin and Geddes [3], who questioned the pre-eminence of schizo- phrenia as the paradigmatic illness of modern psychiatry, because of its association with the antipsychiatry move- ment and the asylum era. They suggested that the com- plexity of pharmacological treatments for bipolar disorder, and the common comorbidity with other disorders, required not only the special skills of a psychiatrist but also closer links with other specialists, and that bipolar disorder was therefore the preferred heartland. Koenig [4  ], from a psychosocial perspective, asked how psychiatrists should work with patients from multifaith communities, and suggested that they take a ‘spiritual history’, consult with clergy and consider (under certain limited circumstances) praying with a patient. This latter suggestion provoked a strong response from Poole et al. [5], who insisted that psychiatrists were bio-psychosocial scientists and not generic healers, and that prayer was the task of the clergy. Hollins [6], on the contrary, gave a cautious endorsement to the article. The review of ‘Psychiatry for the Person’ – a term popularized by the World Psychiatric Association – is relevant therefore to understanding the reason for these pressing questions about the nature of psychiatry and the role of psychiatrists. It considers the meaning of these questions within the conceptual framework of person- centred psychiatry and the overdue search for answers. Person-centred psychiatry and a medicine of the person Person-centred approaches to healthcare are consistently advocated by user and carer groups and promoted in several policy papers in the UK. The most recent report ‘Shared Decision Making’ [7], for example, has focused on the partnership between doctor and patient. a University of Keele, b Institute of Psychiatry, London, c University of Gloucestershire and d Consultant Psychiatrist, Research Associate, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK Correspondence to Professor John L. Cox, 58 St Stephen’s Rd, Cheltenham GL51 3AE, UK E-mail: john1.cox@virgin.net Current Opinion in Psychiatry 2009, 22:587–593 Purpose of review This review considers much recent work focused around the Psychiatry for the Person Programme of the World Psychiatric Association. Yet we have also considered the wider medical context, based on recent publications familiar to us in the fields of ethics, religion, spirituality and person-centred medicine as well as ‘medicine of the person’ as developed by Tournier. Recent findings There is an urgent need for evaluative outcome studies of person-centred care, including the narratives of service users, rigorous scientific methods and new conceptual models; and for a reformulation of the bio-psychosocial model to incorporate new knowledge in the neurosciences, philosophy, anthropology, ethics and theology. Summary We suggest that a biosocial/psychospiritual (BSPS) approach to relationship-based healthcare should be more actively considered. Keywords bio-psychosocial model, ethics, faith, mental health, person-centred, philosophy, psychiatry, religion, spirituality Curr Opin Psychiatry 22:587–593 ß 2009 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 0951-7367 0951-7367 ß 2009 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins DOI:10.1097/YCO.0b013e3283318e49