Chan, CLW

Li, J

Ran, M

HKU Scholars Hub

Title Absence of humanities in China’s training of psychiatristsAuthor(s) Li, J; Ran, M; Chan, CLWCitation BJPsych International Blog, 2015, v. 1Issued Date 2015URL http://hdl.handle.net/10722/207395RightsThis is an author-produced electronic version of an articleaccepted for publication in the British Journal of Psychiatry. Thedefinitive publisher-authenticated version is available online athttp://bjp.rcpsych.orgAbsence of humanities in China’s training of psychiatrists  Summary Contemporary psychiatry need insights from the humanities and the arts, because they can complement medical science and technology through their contrasting perspectives. Neglect of medicine humanities of psychiatry, as of result, maltreatment events of patients with mental disorders have occurred sometimes. We believe that psychiatrists should pay attention to both brain and mind, rather than only the brain, especially in China.  Declaration of interest None.  Jie Li is Professor of Guangzhou Medical University and Vice-President of Guangzhou Brain Hospital.  It is said that absence of humanities in China’s medical education system.1 We believe this situation not only in general medical education areas, but also in psychiatric education in China.    China’s mental health service originated in the late 19th century, in Guangzhou Psychiatric Hospital (1898) of China. Since then, many other psychiatric hospitals had been established in other places of China, such as Beijing (1906), Suzhou (1923), and Shanghai (1935).2 From a medical historical perspective, most Chinese psychiatrists were deeply affected by German psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin, Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler, American psychiatrist Adolf Meyer, and Russian physiologist Ivan Petrovich from 1949 to 1978. These well-known psychiatrists’ academic views were mainly derived from biological psychiatry. As China’s reform and opening up, China’s mental health services have made great development in psychiatric hospitals, hospital-based service, professional training, scientific research, and etc. From 1978 to now, Chinese psychiatrists more focused on research of genetics, neurobiology, and/or psychopharmacology than other psychiatric areas in addition to daily clinical work as they were deeply affected by biomedical model and the evidence–based medicine. However, with the development of social-economy in contemporary China, public health officials have gradually paid attention to the balanced-care model between hospital-based and community-based mental health services.3 At the same time, some psychiatrists also begin to regard the important role of psychosocial interventions in psychiatric treatment which has been emphasized in the national mental health law (2012).4 Even though Chinese psychiatrists pay more attention to comprehensive opinion on mental disorders and current psychiatry, but they seldom have a cultural perspective. For example, it is asserted Chinese psychiatrists only from medical perspective to understand ‘neurasthenia’ even though it should be understood from widely medical and social-cultural perspectives.5 Why does this happen? The main reason may be that most of Chinese psychiatrists lack of appropriate education of the humanism. Chinese psychiatrists are still obviously influenced by biological psychiatry. Moreover textbook of psychiatry in undergraduate education has no more detail discussing ethics in China, not like that in UK.6,7 In other words, Chinese psychiatrists pay more attention to the brain rather than the mind, even though both of brain and mind are important. In fact, this reflects that views of Chinese psychiatrists are more likely to be reductionist rather than holistic approaches in methodology.  But, psychiatry should be included both medical science and humanism.8-11 Contemporary psychiatry will still need insights from the humanities and the arts, because they can complement medical science and technology through their contrasting perspectives.12 Neglect of medicine humanities of psychiatry, as of result, maltreatment events of patients with mental disorders have occurred sometimes in China. From May 1, 2013, the national mental health law of China has come into effect. The balance between public security and protecting personal freedom has been emphasized. This means that the national mental health law is not only for social control, but also for protecting the rights of patients with mental disorders. Only strengthen the training of the humanism, Chinese psychiatrists and other mental health staff (e.g., psychiatric nurses, mental health social workers, clinical psychologists, etc.) can better protect human right of patients with mental disorders.  Jie Li, Professor, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou Brain Hospital, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510370, China.biglijie@163.com Maosheng Ran, Associated Professor, PhD, Department of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China Cecilia Lai-Wan Chan Professor, PhD, Department of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China  References 1  Jie Li, Feng Qi, Shanshan Guo, Ping Peng, Ming     Zhang. Absence of humanities in China’s medical education system. Lancet 2012; 380:648. 2  Jie Li. The first psychiatric hospital in China. Br J Psychiatry 2010; 197:440. 3. Xiang YT, Yu X, Sartorius N, Ungvari GS, Chiu HF: Mental health in China: challenges and progress. Lancet 2012, 380:1715–1716. 4  Mental health law of the People's Republic of China. Beijing: China Legal Publishing House, 2012.  5  Kleinman A. “Several theoretical topics in neurosis research": commentary. Shanghai Arch Psychiatry 1994; 6: 179-81. 6  Wei H, Xin Y，Yi X, et al. Psychiatry. Beijing: People’ Medical Publishing House, 2013. 7  Cowen P, Harrison P, Burns T. Shorter Oxford textbook of psychiatry, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. 8   Cawley RH. Psychiatry is more than a science. Br J Psychiatry 1993; 162:154-60. 9   Bracken P, Thomas P. Postpsychiatry. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005. 10   Brendel DH. Healing Psychiatry. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2006. 11  Ghaemi SN. The rise and fall of the biopsychosocial model. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2010. 12  Bolwig TG. Psychiatry and the humanities. Acta J Psychiatr Scand 2006; 114:381-3. 

Absence of humanities in China’s training of psychiatrists

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Absence of humanities in China’s training of psychiatrists

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