Colloquium 1: Radical criticisms of the BPSM, and why we still have it nevertheless

The BPSM has recently been radically criticised by authoritative commentators in e.g. The Lancet and the American Journal of Psychiatry; for being vague, lacking scientific content, useless and philosophically incoherent. This combined with the fact that the BPSM is still so frequently invoked in clinical and healthcare education settings signals a problem in the current conceptual foundations of medicine/healthcare. We keep invoking the BPSM because there is accumulating evidence that psychosocial factors as well as biological factors are relevant to many diseases and their management. Refers e.g. social epidemiology, management of LTCs. I will present the case that the ‘content’ of the BPSM/biopsychosocial medicine is to found in the specifics for particular conditions – in fact just like the content of the Biomedical Model/biomedicine is in its specifics.

This is event is the first in a series of four Sowerby Philosophy and Medicine colloquia with Prof Derek Bolton of King's College London.

For those holding a valid KCL ID, there is no need to register.