[Liaison psychiatry: a new perspective on mental health in Latin America].

The situation of Mental Health in Latin America is analyzed. Urgently creating a system able at handling the psychiatric disease increase in the years to come is a conclusion this paper strongly aims at. The beginning of Psychiatry is reviewed, and the importance of Psychiatry at the General Hospital is outlined as well as its rapprochement toward the community, which led to a better control and prevention in the field of Mental Health. A definition of Psychiatry is proposed, as a branch of Medicine which stands in between mental hospitals and communities. Active teamwork, coupled with the physician's work and the tasks other members of the health personnel are engaged in, has led to a more integrated approach onto the ill thus benefiting not only patients but also the whole community.