This article was developed via a partnership with BetterHelp.
Psychiatrists are medical doctors who specialize in diagnosing and treating mental health conditions with medication. They can also check for any underlying medical issues that may be causing your psychological symptoms to worsen as well. Additionally, psychiatrists can offer psychotherapy.
Specialist training in mental health is required for psychiatrists after medical school. Mental health experts, such as psychologists, are likewise highly specialized. Most states prohibit them from prescribing medicines or training in medicine, but they have PhDs or PsyDs in psychology and can also provide psychotherapy.
Conditions Psychiatrists Treat
Even if you’re only experiencing mild symptoms, seeing a psychiatrist can help you get back to your normal life.
The following conditions can be helped by a psychiatrist:
- A wide range of mental health issues, including social anxiety disorder and generalized anxiety disorder
- A variety of eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia.
- Mood disorders, such as bipolar disorder and depression
- Personality disorders such as borderline personality disorder and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder
- Schizophrenia and delusional disorder and other psychotic disorders
How They Diagnose Patients
Doctors in psychiatry, with their extensive knowledge of medical procedures and procedures to be performed, can order and perform a wide range of medical laboratory and psychological tests to better understand the health and well-being of their patients. Medical and psychiatric education and clinical training enable them to comprehend the complicated relationship between emotional health issues, genetics, family history, medical and psychiatric records and treatment plans. Read more about the many different factors that affect how psychiatric illnesses are diagnosed and treated here.
DSM-5 offers descriptions, symptoms, and other diagnostic criteria for diagnosing mental disorders. These criteria are used to make specific diagnoses.
What Psychiatric Treatments Are Available?
Each patient’s needs dictate the type of treatment a psychiatrist uses, which might include a variety of psychotherapies, drugs, psychosocial interventions, and even electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).
Therapist-patient communication is an essential part of psychotherapy, which is often known as “talk therapy.” A wide range of mental and emotional issues can be treated with it. Psychotherapy aims to alleviate the patient’s distressing or incapacitating symptoms, allowing them to operate more normally. A few sessions spread out over a couple of weeks or months may suffice, while numerous sessions over several years may be required, depending on the severity of the condition. Individual, couple, family, or group psychotherapy can all be used to treat mental health issues.
There are several types of psychotherapy. Psychotherapies can be used to assist patients alter their behavior or thinking patterns, they can be used to help patients examine the influence of previous relationships and experiences on their current behavior, or they can be used to address specific problems. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a problem-solving approach to treatment. In-depth individual treatment, psychoanalysis necessitates numerous sessions spread out over a long period of time.
Psychiatrists employ many of the same drugs that are used to treat hypertension or diabetes. Psychiatrists can prescribe medicines to treat mental illnesses after conducting extensive assessments. While the exact mechanism of action of psychiatric drugs is not entirely known, they may beneficially regulate chemical signaling and communication inside the brain, which may alleviate some symptoms of psychiatric diseases. Long-term medication treatment requires regular visits to the psychiatrist to assess the medicine’s effectiveness and any possible adverse effects.
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