The family practitioner as psychiatrist

The author describes attitudes held by nonpsychiatric physicians that are responsible for poor psychological handling of patients, including low interest in psychosocial aspects of illness, judgment of and disinterest in hypochondriasis or conversion reaction, avoidance of psychotic or terminally ill patients, and anger toward patients with unpleasant characteristics. He discusses reasons for these attitudes and suggests that medical schools increase psychological education and psychiatry departments increase the relevance of their teaching.