Everyone gets worried, sad, and angry sometimes. But when someone’s moods and thoughts start to make daily life difficult, a psychiatrist can often help. Psychiatrists are specially trained doctors who treat people with mental and emotional disorders.
Psychological and physical conditions are sometimes related. Some psychological disorders are associated with changes in brain chemistry, while others may be partly hereditary.
One thing that makes psychiatrists different from counsellors and psychologists is that they are also medical doctors (they must complete medical school before studying psychiatry). When diagnosing and treating patients, psychiatrists consider biological factors as well as life events and stresses. They can order medical tests, prescribe medication, and have patients hospitalized if necessary.
Psychiatrists treat many different kinds of problems. Some of the most common are depression, manic-depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and addictions. Other problems include schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Schizophrenics may suffer from paranoia, delusions, or hallucinations. People with obsessive-compulsive disorder feel compelled to perform time-consuming and disruptive rituals like washing their hands constantly or repeating certain phrases.
Many treatment plans involve both medication and psychotherapy. In psychotherapy, psychiatrists get people to talk about their thoughts and experiences. They help them understand their behaviour, and gain more control over it. Psychiatrists keep detailed records of their patients’ sessions and track their progress over the course of treatment.
Many psychiatrists obtain additional training so that they can specialize in areas such as child and adolescent psychiatry, geriatric psychiatry, forensic psychiatry, or psychopharmacology. Forensic psychiatrists work with people with mental illnesses that cause them to get in trouble with the law. Psychopharmacologists are experts in psychiatric medications.
NOC Code: 3111