The history of Chinese psychiatry was reviewed. The first was supernatural stage followed by natural stage, somatic stage, and finally modren stage where, with the influence of Western psychiatry, mental illness began to be regarded
psychollogically,
and the functions of the brain have started to become known Although Chinese medicine was influenced by religions such as Taoism and Buddhism, unlike Middle Ages in Europe. the medical profession in China did have some degree of independent
autonomy. As
illness was explained in terms of organ. psychosomatic medicine was able to develop early in China. Even though Chinese Psychiatry understood mental illness to be caused by emotional problems, treatment was biological ones such as herb and
acupuncture.
They have some concepts about psychotherapy, but they could not have developed sytemic one. The tendency of the regarding mental illness humanistically. and the dealing with the life phenomena from a holistic or universal point of view can be
seen
as
the two main distinguishing characteristics of Chinese psychiatry.
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