Psychiatry's journey from talk therapy to pill pushing

Here's a New York Times piece profiling one psychiatrist who made the switch for economic reasons:

Like many of the nation’s 48,000 psychiatrists, Dr. Levin, in large part because of changes in how much insurance will pay, no longer provides talk therapy, the form of psychiatry popularized by Sigmund Freud that dominated the profession for decades. Instead, he prescribes medication, usually after a brief consultation with each patient.

Long sessions with psychiatrists doing talk therapy may seem foreign to young readers, except in old movies and novels. A psychiatrist colleague of mine who has psychoanalytic training misses the old tradition. He prescribes pills in his practice and does psychoanalysis as a hobby in his off time.


More from Daniel Carlat guest blogging at Kevin MD.