Abstract

SOCIOLOGY provides a powerful tool for the understanding and treatment of mental illness. Recent work is making it increasingly clear that sociological theory and techniques are valuable additions to the biochemical, genetic, and psychological approaches. Yet sociology is relatively neglected by psychiatrists both in the treating of patients and the training of residents. Few residencies provide any sort of introduction to the sociological study of mental illness and sociology is not usually considered one of the basic sciences essential for psychiatry. In examining and treating patients it is common practice to devote much attention to constitutional or psychological factors associated with the onset of the illness. Less consideration is usually given to the social situation in which the symptoms occurred and to the chain of social events which can result, for example, in the formation of a group of persons, one labeled as a patient and the others as staff.