The political role psychiatry plays in mental health strategies in the 20th century is discussed as well as the dangers of abuse when totalitarian ideologies rule supreme. The author comments on positive developments in the sectors of applied psychiatry and psychotherapy after World War II and the implementation of uniform requirements for the classification of psychopathological disorders as well as their limitations. Psychiatry as a scientific discipline relies on two fundaments: the conclusions drawn from the collective, present and past experience of psychiatric medicine and the impulses given by neighbouring disciplines such as neurobiology, psychology and sociology. These influences are necessary for the advancement of psychiatry, but can be restrictive in that they lead to tunnel vision by giving simple explanations for mental disorders of complex or unknown etiology. A multidimensional approach is required for the elaboration of adequate therapies and research must avoid dogmatism and short-sightedness.
