Divergences in American psychiatry during the depression: Somatic psychiatry, community mental hygiene, and social reconstruction

The differences between somatic psychiatrists and mental hygienists, alread y apparent earlier, became much more pronounced during the Depression years , partly as a consequence of their different perspectives on this social cr isis. Somatic psychiatrists, emboldened by the apparent success of new medi cal treatment methods, reasserted the central position of the mental hospit al within psychiatry, attempted to improve the discipline's position within medicine, and promoted basic research. Mental hygienists, following the id eal of prevention, proposed far-reaching programs of community mental hygie ne to alleviate widespread mental distress. A small group of mental hygieni sts embraced socialism and advocated measures of radical social reconstruct ion. (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.