The problem with psychiatry is that it is based on a science still in its infancy. We still know so very little about brain function or the bi-directional brain-mind interplay.

 Like clinical psychology, psychiatry is limited by the fact that we know so little about mental function, normal or otherwise, to this day.  Our ignorance promotes its gross empiricism. The optimal psychiatrist should have an open mind, keeps up with & learn from scientific progress, notably in the fields of neurobiology & immunobiology, & remain cognizant of the pitfalls of reductionism.  The sage psychiatrist is open to accepting assistance from other fields of expertise, while being wary of exploitive opportunists, who seem to spring up with regularity in areas where ignorance widely persists & conventional methods falter.