[The foundation for psychiatric treatment--from belief to science]

Like other clinical disciplines, psychiatry has been met with increasing demands to document the scientific foundations for its treatments. The introduction of evidence-based medicine has contributed to this. Psychiatry holds a unique position compared to other medical specialties because it deals not only with physical or biological matters, but also with questions of meaning and mental phenomena. The scientific and clinical approach to psychiatry must incorporate both these aspects. This cannot be accomplished through a purely hermeneutic or a purely relativistic position. In isolation, these approaches cannot contribute to bridging the gap between research and clinical practice. Evidence-based medicine, on the other hand, through a stronger emphasis on empirical scientific evidence as the basis of treatment methods, enables us to secure better and safer therapies for our patients and augment the professional status of psychiatry. A critical attitude towards established "truths" will prevent stagnation in static or dogmatic positions, and thereby promote continuous development. Quality assurance and scientific validation is basically a question of ethics, hence we cannot avoid attending to these issues.