Leo Sher, M.D.

Today, we publish an interview with an eminent European psychiatrist, Dr. María Dolores Braquehais Conesa.

María Dolores Braquehais Conesa, M.D., Ph.D. is Medical Director of the Integral Care Program for Sick Health Professionals “Galatea Clinic,” Associate Professor at the International University of Catalonia Medical School, and Researcher at the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute, Barcelona, Spain.

Leo Sher: Do you believe biomarkers or pharmacogenomics will meaningfully change everyday prescribing practices in psychiatry, or are their clinical benefits currently overstated?

María Dolores Braquehais Conesa: Biomarkers and the information provided by pharmacogenomics aim to achieve an individualized medicine approach in order to improve the response to psychotropic drugs and/or other treatment interventions. However, to achieve a new personalized medicine, it is necessary to update our current models of mental disorders, taking into account the different dimensions that are integrated in a complex way in human beings (physical, biological, behavioral, social, mental, and spiritual) as well as their enactive, multilevel, and bidirectional interaction with the physical and symbolic environment they live in.

Leo Sher: How will the development of artificial intelligence (AI) affect psychiatric practice and research?

María Dolores Braquehais Conesa: The development of artificial intelligence allows us to operate simultaneously with different sources of information and optimize the results obtained when working with large databases. This is particularly useful in research and can also enable advances in healthcare planning and service provision. However, we must not forget that we are “social mammals” (“zoon politikon”, Aristotle said) immersed in a complex physical and symbolic context. Therefore, in this context of this improvement in cognitive domains, interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligence skills will become essential aspects in the treatment of mental disorders. It is not only information that is needed in therapy, but also communication. Humans not only need to be treated technically but also recognized and addressed as persons who suffer and need emotional support to trust those who treat them.

Leo Sher: What advice would you offer to young psychiatrists and researchers who wish to make a meaningful and lasting contribution to the field?

María Dolores Braquehais Conesa: Young psychiatrists must take advantage of the technological benefits that are offered in their time. But what will make the difference is their capacity for complex thinking, that is, their acquaintance and knowledge of the main principles of the different dimensions of human beings and their interaction with the environment. Strange as it may seem, training in the social sciences or humanities must complement strictly medical training more than ever. The focus should also move from a mind perspective to a new interest on consciousness as a wider paradigm to understand the par energy/matter in our Universe.