Consultation-liaison psychiatry: an international perspective

Consultation-liaison (C-L) psychiatry is the specialty of physical/psychiatric comorbidity and somatization. As such, it addresses the commonest forms of psychiatric presentation in the community; it is mainstream psychiatry. Its name reflects the fact that most of the patients seen by C-L psychiatrists have to be managed jointly with a non-psychiatrist doctor and other professionals. Because of this, the degree of development of the specialty and its mode of operation differ from country to country, depending on the organization of health services and the varying attitudes towards the disorders in which C-L psychiatry specializes. These differences permit a refreshing opportunity to re-examine the ways in which patients with physical/psychiatric comorbidity and somatization can be helped. The International Organization for Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry was formed to facilitate this process. It has identified challenges that are universal, and which if not met rapidly and efficiently will damage our ability to provide appropriate care for the patients whom we serve.