CONSULTATION-LIAISON PSYCHIATRY

From the time of Hippocrates, there have been efforts to integrate mind and body. The first formal efforts at integration of psychiatric and medical care began in mid-20th century with the psychosomatics movement. General hospital psychiatric units (GHPU) provided easy access to psychiatric services. But this service was limited to the patients referred to the psychiatrists. There was no academic or teaching input for the referring physician and his team. Consultation-liaison psychiatry (C-L psychiatry) moved from this traditional consultation model to liaison model. However over the last two decades many new models of integrated care have appeared depending upon the area of focus. This paper discusses various models of C-L psychiatry with future challenges.