Whither Psychiatry? Faster, Higher, Stronger—Together

PSYCHIATRIC VIEWS ON THE DAILY NEWS

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About 2 months ago, in the March 25, 2025, column, I asked “Whither Psychiatry”? I discussed some of the current challenges in psychiatry as I saw them: alternatives like coaching; continued relative neglect of social determinants of mental health; passivity in light of governmental threats to mental health; high levels of unhappiness; climate instability; technology; and burnout, among others. I thought that perhaps we needed to turn back to our Declaration of Independence: “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness,” meaning to fight for this principle in psychiatry like America’s forefathers fought for this principle for our country.

How well does has psychiatry done since then? In the continuing avalanche of new and changing governmental policies, I would say not too well. Already chronic inadequate resources are in the process of being reduced or dismantled.

There has been at least 1 positive story: The unprecedented rally fighting for mental health at the American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting, representing a counter approach to passivity. I also reported in my May 21, 2025, video the appropriate widening of the scope of psychiatry to include lifestyle endeavors, previously the stronghold of coaching and primary care.

Whither, then, should we be going now in our state of challenged mental health? Perhapsunexpectedly, sports, which is a lifestyle activity.

Specifically, the Olympics suggests a way. The Olympics’ traditional motto of “Faster, Higher, Stronger” was recently supplemented by adding the word Together. The reasoning was that solidarity through sport makes the world a better place by uniting people, even under competition. And with many issues facing psychiatry, almost like the many events in the Olympics, adopting this motto could be beneficial.

For instance, the development of AI is becoming an issue—an event—with many players in the arena. Among the psychiatric concerns is the prediction of the rapid loss of entry-level white collar jobs.AI is also causing a sense of uncertainty in the general population. We must move faster and stronger together to ensure that AI is being used beneficially and not causing additional negative social determinants of mental health care.

Organizationally, we have to move faster together to try to catch up to the pace of relevant governmental changes. This is not to belie the “Slow Thought Manifesto” discussed by Psychiatric Times columnist Vincenzo Di Nicola, MD, PhD, FCAHS, DLFAPA, DFCPA, FACPsych ,but slow thoughts can proceed with faster action. Higher may mean to increase our range and therapeutic successes, including the planning and resources to do more as necessary. Stronger means to find ways to enhance our impact, such as with coalitions of allies devoted to public mental health.

Athletes continue to improve every Olympics in traditional and new sports. Our annual meeting is a time and place to point out such in psychiatry.

This strategy could then translate to a motto or manifesto for us:

Faster, Higher, Stronger—Together for Mental Health!

Dr Moffic is an award-winning psychiatrist who specialized in the cultural and ethical aspects of psychiatry and is now in retirement and retirement as a private pro bono community psychiatrist. A prolific writer and speaker, he has done a weekday column titled “Psychiatric Views on the Daily News” and a weekly video, “Psychiatry & Society,” since the COVID-19 pandemic emerged. He was chosen to receive the 2024 Abraham Halpern Humanitarian Award from the American Association for Social Psychiatry. Previously, he received the Administrative Award in 2016 from the American Psychiatric Association, the one-time designation of being a Hero of Public Psychiatry from the Speaker of the Assembly of the APA in 2002, and the Exemplary Psychiatrist Award from the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill in 1991. He presented the third Rabbi Jeffrey B. Stiffman lecture at Congregation Shaare Emeth in St. Louis on Sunday, May 19, 2024. He is an advocate and activist for mental health issues related to climate instability, physician burnout, and xenophobia. He is now editing the final book in a 4-volume series on religions and psychiatry for Springer: Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, Christianity, and now The Eastern Religions, and Spirituality. He serves on the Edito