In 1977, Dr. George Engel’s seminal article on the biopsychosocial model of disease, “The Need for a New Medical Model: A Challenge for Biomedicine,” was published in Science. Over 20 years later, the article is still required reading in many training programs in psychiatry, nursing, psychology, and social work, because the biopsychosocial model advances a comprehensive understanding of disease and treatment. The model is derived from general systems theory, which proposes that each system affects and is affected by the other systems
