Volume 4 Issue 3 - Winter 2009

by Tony Reid

Abstract

In this paper the author aims to present the current state of knowledge about Depression  according to both Western psychiatry and traditional Chinese medicine, with a critical evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of both approaches. The paper argues for a dramatic shift in the way patients presenting with a depressed mood are assessed and treated. It points the way to an integrated approach involving revised criteria for the diagnosis of a mental disorder as well as the provision of appropriate support for patients using selected methods from TCM as well as Western psychology and psychiatry.