The Author comments on an essay by Marcia Angell in The New York Review of Books (in two parts: "The epidemic of mental illness: Why?", 2011, 58, 11: 20-22; "The illusions of psychiatry", 2011, 58, 12: 20-22). Angell’s critical stand against pharmaceutical psychiatry has reasonable roots, but cannot be generalized to the psychiatric profession and research. A different psychiatry exists and offers the basis for a highly specialized approach, that incorporates both psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy.
Keywords: Conflict of interest, psychiatry, psychotherapy, pharmaceutical propaganda, censorship