Abstract
Needs of psychiatry in general hospitals rose up under the influence of increase in aged people, change of structure of disease, and progress and development in medical treatment. Its role was also extended from dealing with psychiatric diseases proper to consultation and liaison service. As a result, its relation to the department of psychosomatic internal medicine, which has a very unique apoproach of our country, came into question. The author believes that psychiatry is characterized by being engaged in interpersonal problems, while psychosomatic internal medicine, though we admit it requires multidimensional understanding and approach, basically takes somatic illness as the object, and this difference inevitably clarifies each individual role, and therefore they would possibly work in partnership.
