Psychiatry shuffles the cards: toward new subtypes, specifiers, and qualifiers

Abstract

The anonymous tale (my version) of five medical doctors hunting is not far from telling the truth: The physicians saw a bird taking off from the bush and wanted to be sure that it was a duck and not a goose before they shot it. The general practitioner deferred the decision to the specialists. The internist did not want to comment without having a lab test. The surgeon proposed hitting the animal before it was too late. The pathologist warned that an insufficient specimen would not allow a definitive opinion even after a completed action. The psychiatrist was the last resort. After a short silence, she asked: Is what you see what you get?