The work of Australian psychiatrists, circa 1986

A random sample of psychiatrists was asked to supply details about their last 20 patients. Sixty percent responded. The median patient in treatment was aged 36 and saw a psychiatrist in office practice once a month over a three year period. Forty-one percent of the patient case load suffered from a psychotic disorder, 39% from a neurosis, and 6% from a personality disorder. Marital problems, problems in living and drug or alcohol dependence were infrequent reasons for consultation. Two positive conclusions were drawn: that the case load reflected the morbidity in the community, and that the prognosis for patients with personality disorders was better than usually expected. There were two areas of concern that may need attention: that insight and group psychotherapy require substantial numbers of treatment hours, and that behavioural psychotherapy is rarely used for patients with neurotic conditions.