by Gerald D. Klee, M.D., Editor
[Winter 1997; Vol.24 No. 4]
Psychiatry continues to undergo accelerated changes. Some changes are good; others are not. We will discuss some of each in this issue.
A welcome change is the increasing number of women in psychiatry. Between 1960 and 1997 the number of women members of Maryland Psychiatric Society (MPS) has grown from 26 to 262 with a corresponding increase in percentage of membership from 15 percent to 34 percent. The many contributions of our women members greatly enrich the MPS and The Maryland Psychiatrist.
In psychiatry, as well as in other branches of medicine, the unique medical needs of women receive growing attention. Anne M. Stoline, M.D., describes the new psychiatric program at Mercy Hospital in Baltimore, devoted to providing mental health services attuned to women’s needs.
On the downside, “The War Against Mental Illness” begun three decades ago, appears to be turning into a war against the mentally ill. Under relentless pressure from business and government to “reform” psychiatry, we seem to be losing psychotherapy, community mental health, and patient confidentiality. These troubling changes are discussed in several articles in this issue.
Psychiatry has been under siege throughout its history. We will survive and improve as we have before. The world is changing and so are we. As we approach a new century, we are transforming ourselves with the help of science and technology. But some things are unlikely to change. The mentally ill will continue to need us. They depend on us to care about them and for them. We have always listened to patients; that should never change.