In this regard, these authors report that, "Twenty years ago, it would not have been uncommon to find a core team of medical doctors and nurses managing all inpatient activities in a hospital setting, with ancillary support from social workers, psychologists, and volunteers. The pattern has now changed dramatically" (Stravynski & O'Connor, p. 606).

Contributing to the increasingly rapid evolution of abnormal psychology into a strictly scientific discipline, at least in Western allopathic medicine, has been the introduction of a multidisciplinary approach that includes healthcare practitioners in a wide range of fields. According to Stravynski and O'Connor (1999), "There are now more psychologists and social scientists than doctors and nurses working in mental health. Psychotherapy is no longer the preserve of a medically trained psychiatrist, and, notwithstanding the view that psychiatric expertise is not transferable, nurse therapists, counselors, and psychologists have all developed skills as therapeutic professionals" (p. 606). The...
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