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John C. Nemiah, President of the Group for the Advancement of
Psychiatry, says in his preface to this volume that its authors, reviewing the scientific studies on the use and effectiveness of
psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy, explode the myth that the two are mutually incompatible, show the dangers of an irrational bias toward one or the other, suggest areas and strategies for further research, and point to some of the ethical issues that must be faced in such future investigations. (p. 13)
The authors point up the lack of any comprehensive theory integrating pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy.
It is clearly beyond the capacity and scope of this committee to offer a comprehensive theory for mental illness that would account for both biological and psychological determinants. It is instead our intention to encourage systematic research that will contribute toward a sound and integrated rationale for the various approaches to the treatment of patients, and to illustrate some research designs aimed at achieving such integration. (pp. 30-31)
In a final summary (pp. 171-175), the authors offer these comments and conclusions:
Psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy coexist as major mental health “industries.” … Theoretical and empirical bridges relating the two forms of treatment and their possible interaction are lacking…. In current practice, psychotropic drugs are commonly used for symptom relief, while psychotherapy is aimed at the resolution of intrapsychic or interpersonal conflicts or for reconditioning, behavioral shaping, or re-education. Yet there is clear evidence that drugs do more than offer mere symptom relief.
They note the tendency “to consider pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy as antagonistic or competitive” and cite reasons for it: e. g., “differences in theories of the etiology of mental illness; antiquated training which tends to perpetuate ignorance of the principles, values and limitations of each form of treatment.” A review of the literature, they say,
shows