Explanatory Methods in Psychiatry

Abstract Paul R. McHugh, MD, is University Distinguished Service Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He was Henry Phipps Professor and Director of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Psychiatrist-in-Chief at Johns Hopkins Hospital for 26 years. He is also inaugural Director of the Paul R. McHugh Program for Human Flourishing. He is the author of many books, most popularly of The Perspectives of Psychiatry (co-written with Phillip Slavney; Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998), which presents a conceptual framework for the proper evaluation and understanding of psychiatric disorders. Building on the philosophical work of forerunners such as Adolf Meyer and Karl Jaspers, the Perspectives approach identifies four explanatory methods underlying the practice of the profession: the perspectives of disease, dimensions, behaviours, and life stories. We explore these ideas and their continued relevance in this interview.