Medicine and the Mind.

To the Editor: In the Perspective article by Gardner and Kleinman (Oct. 31 issue),(1) the authors present concerns regarding the current state of psychiatry. They lament the "checklist" approach that characterizes too much of modern psychiatric practice in lieu of consideration of the full biopsychosocial picture of the complex person seeking care. As director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), whose mission it is to support basic and clinical research to combat mental illnesses, I share the authors' concerns and their understanding of the importance of diverse approaches to address the problems our patients face. The NIMH vigorously . . .