WHY STUDY THE HISTORY OF PSYCHIATRY

The history of psychiatry is being neglected. The major psychiatric te xtbooks no longer offer any overview of psychiatric history. Possible reasons for this indifference are discussed. It is suggested that a kn owledge of our history is not only necessary in a general intellectual sense, but also specifically in enabling us to more easily tolerate t he incompleteness and ambiguity of many of our concepts. Furthermore, it may help psychiatry to more convincingly explain the reality and co nsequences of mental illness to a sceptical public.