What is available to clients as explanation is the very stuff psychologists and psychiatrists talk about. The culture has become both more psychological-minded and more biological-minded. As a result, Addis has heard clients say things like, "My doctor said this is a chemical imbalance, so why are you talking to me about doing pleasurable activities?" He admonishes professionals: "We don't know what our theories mean to individuals. We say 'chemical imbalance.' A patient thinks, 'I'm damned.' Our theories are not neutral."
Which is why Peter Kramer, who prescribes both psychotherapy and drug therapy, ponders, "which is the umbrella concept?" Is the brain a biological organ and psychotherapy another way to influence the brain? This is the view that psychiatry is moving towards. Or is drug therapy an adjunct to psychotherapy? "This is my model," he says. "Medication is one way of helping patients broaden their perspective." In other words, it's a way to restore what makes people most human—our remarkable capacity to adapt to life's ever changing demands.
