A Study of the Causes of Conflict Between Psychiatrists and Psychologists

Although there has been much discussion of the current professional conflicts between psychiatrists and psychologists, few studies have attempted to empirically evaluate how the professions view their roles and responsibilities within the mental health system. In this study a questionnaire was sent to psychiatricts, psychologists, social workers, and nurses in various mental health settings. They were asked to evaluate how large a role psychiatrists and psychologists played in 11 everyday activities, how competent the two professions were to perform the activity, and how much responsibility each should ideally have in carrying out the activity. The results showed that the two professions differ in their perceptions of their competence to perform several activities central to the mental health system. Based on the findings, the authors suggest some ways to resolve the conflicts between the two professions.