[The self-identity of psychiatry in the 21st century].

The relationship of mentally ill patients and the relational society has constantly changed during the course of history. The changes are true reflexions of the given society. In the management of behaviours disturbing community life medical treatment, law enforcement and religious measures change periodically, sometimes one, sometimes the other comes to the fore. One of the most influential spiritual currents of the 20th century has been the dismantling of large institutions, called deinstitutionalisation, which process could be experienced by the currently active professional generations. New ideas have followed each other since the turn of the millennium at an ever-accelerating pace. The postmodern age threatens to fragment our profession. The mentally ill person finds less and less space for the global suffering of his or her person to be heard. The system forces the professional to reflect the mental illness as a malfunction of an organ, or name it in the form of a recently published linguistic invention (diagnostic category). The global nature of the person is lost, in its biological, psychological, social and spiritual wholeness. This paper searches for and tries to articulate modern, forward-looking clues to the identity of psychiatry (and the psychiatrist). The facts of the subject of the person come to the fore, such as self-identity, value-drivenness, intentionality, future-orientation, and the spiritual dimension.

[Rehabilitation of the concept of neurosis]. / A neurózis fogalmának rehabilitációja.

The use of the term "neurosis" has been gradually pushed out form the medical literature and from the everyday practice since the eighties of the last century. Instead, the categories of DSM-III, and its new versions, and those of the ICD-10 have become commonly used. The author analyses the advantages and drawbacks of this radical change. He points out that it is not merely the problem of the medical profession. Transformation of the way of diagnostic thinking has been put into a broader social and cultural context. The expression "deconstruction" describes appropriately the process when comprehensive, entire categories resign to small sliced parts of reality. The deconstruction recalls the "Universalia-dispute" of the Middle Ages, namely the question whether the general concepts have real existence, and to what extent. The term "neurosis" as a comprehensive category, which is characteristic of many patients, it has a heuristic value if it is filled up with new contents (anthropology, ontology).

[Research on the integration of psychotherapies]. / Integrációs kutások a pszichoterápiában.

The author analyses metanalytic studies published after 2000, dealing with the common factors of psychotherapeutic interventions. Most studies conclude that there are common factors responsible for the most part of therapeutic effectiveness of the different psychotherapeutic methods. The significance of the specific techniques of the different methods, on the other hand, seems to be secondary, playing role only in the advanced phase of the therapeutic process. The integration of psychotherapies comes into the limelight on the basis of research of common factors. The integration view makes the appearance of new concepts possible, which are presented in short. A further synthesis of higher order concerning the philosophy of psychotherapies becomes possible as well.

[The psychotherapy of depressions]. / A depressziók pszichoterápiája.

The author outlines the development of views concerning depression, and delineates the evolution of the cognitive approach. The issue of cognitive approach in the Hungarian literature is shortly presented. The author states on the basis of the literature, that the monistic view of depressions is not sustainable any more. The generally accepted conceptions of cognitive therapies are summarised. He also reviews the most important other psychotherapeutic approaches in the treatment of depressions. Some important comparative studies on the basis of a dual approach are presented showing the newest trends of research. The author points out the market mechanisms behind the proliferation of new psychotherapeutic "methods". The importance of depressions in public health is underlined. The use of modern telecommunication techniques in psychotherapy is briefly demonstrated.

[Embeddedness of psychiatry in human society]. / A pszichiátria társadalmi beágyazottsága.

The problem of deviant behaviour disturbing the life of human communities is as old as history itself. The interpretation and social management of extreme (deviant) behaviour elicited religious, medical and policing reactions from the community. These three ways of discourse have accompanied societies along the history of mankind, and their relative significance has been variable. The medical interpretation achieved its independence relatively late, and has been pushed back again in our age. Governments impose financial restrictions on the expansion of health services. The institutions dealing with mental disorders are especially affected by these restrictions. On the other hand, the social and police management of mental disorders burdens societies with higher costs than those of the health care system.