Psychiatrists Are Biologic Reductionists and Pill Pushers

Dr. Avtob: There's a real threat in not explaining this well to a patient because it can allow a patient to say, oh, I have this diagnosis and I have this doctor here and he's going to fix me. So one of the most common critiques of our field is quote, psychiatrists are biological reductionists and pill pushers who diagnose and prescribe everyone they see regardless of their condition. Most psychiatrists I know work with some sort of a biopsychosocial kind of formulation model,. But it is the case that many psychiatrists overestimate the efficacy of medications and underestimate the therapeutic value of psychotherapy.