Advancing care, treatment for patients with mental illness

Publication of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition and subsequent editions vastly increased innovation of psychiatric treatment and clarified diagnosis in a wide range of practice settings. Current treatment is now more objective, consistent, and effective than in days past. Our new challenge is to reach more patients with proportionately smaller mental health resources. As we see media headlines of the tragedies of undiagnosed and untreated mental illness, this edition's articles address the pressing needs of children and adolescents, patients with chronic pain, and our military veterans. These are cause for careful consideration and risk for all physicians, not only psychiatrists. The articles in the Symposium on Mental Health will increase awareness and guide treatment and management of frequently seen conditions in primary care and general settings. The intersection of public and private treatment care settings may further complicate the sensitive and timely referral of patients as access to care necessarily adapts to available resources.