Challenges for psychiatry in the 21st century

Psychiatrists manage ambiguity in diagnosis as well as management of patients with psychiatric disorders and contain anxiety experienced by patients and their families as well as that of the teams. The changes in societies and cultures in the past few decades have produced changes in their expectations of their doctors, including psychiatrists. In some high-income countries, patients are better informed about their conditions and treatments than they were before. This availability of knowledge has led to a levelling in the relationship between patient and doctor.