RT Book, Section A1 Bui, Melissa A1 Mufson, Michael A1 Gitlin, David A2 Barsky, Arthur J. A2 Silbersweig, David A. A2 Boland, Robert J. SR Print(0) ID 1138124177 T1 The Relationships Between Depression and Medical Illness T2 Depression in Medical Illness YR 2016 FD 2016 PB McGraw-Hill Education PP New York, NY SN 9780071819084 LK neurology.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1138124177 RD 2024/03/29 AB Medicine has a long and complex past that mirrors the course of human history. Indeed, the major historical milestones of medicine cannot be understood outside of cultural context. A current of reductionist thought flows throughout the history of medicine, and has been pivotal in identifying and defining disease, and directing treatment into specialized, highly developed fields. However, this may have led to the creation of artificial boundaries around assessment and management, resulting in fractured, and at times, sub-optimal patient care. A more contemporary approach has reconceptualized the patient within a larger clinical and practical context. This transition demonstrates the value of an interdisciplinary approach, in which the patient, rather than the illness is the focus of treatment rather than the identified illness. There is also a transition toward a greater mechanistic understanding of illnesses. These developments have resulted in a greater appreciation of the overlap between physical and mental health, two areas which have at times occupied opposite poles of medical practice due to dualistic thinking, but which undeniably influence one another and can never be fully disentangled.