Why do we need a social psychiatry?

Human beings are social animals, and familial or social relationships can cause a variety of difficulties as well as providing support in our social functioning. The traditional way of looking at mental illness has focused on abnormal thoughts, actions and behaviours in response to internal causes (such as biological factors) as well as external ones such as social determinants and social stressors. We contend that psychiatry is social. Mental illness and interventions in psychiatry should be considered in the framework of social context where patients live and factors they face on a daily basis. © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 2016.