ABSTRACT
I N DEVELOPING our thesis, we have shown so far that the verbal and non-verbal procedures of psychiatrists are designed to improve the processes of communication of their patients. The systems of communication of both psychiatrists and patients are i n tu rn derived from the wider social matr ix i n which doctor and patient operate. Whi l e the conventional relationships are clearly defined i n terms of the culture i n which they occur, the more deviant relationships and methods of communication encountered i n psychiatry are likewise embedded i n the superper¬ sonal networks of group and culture. The next three chapters, therefore, are devoted to a discussion and i l lustrat ion of the more specifically American features of the social matr ix and their relationship to present-day therapeutic practices.
