ABSTRACT
It is customary to cast discussions of college psychiatry into the framework of medicine and public health. This is consistent with the view that psychiatric services are a type of health care to be dispensed through the school's general health program. It is inconsistent, however, with the work the college psychiatrist actually does and is expected to do. This chapter examines the principles of conduct governing college psychiatrists and the relationships between these authorities and their subjects. Much of the work of the school and college psychiatrists consists of crisis intervention. In such situations, it may not be clear who is the patient, or more frequently, there is no true patient nor can any person be assigned that role. The college psychiatrist has a dual responsibility which at times puts him in a paradoxical situation. He is a double agent, serving both parties in a conflict but owing real loyalty to neither.
