What kind of psychiatrist am i

Psychiatry is the branch of medicine that focuses on the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental health disorders. Psychiatrists are medical doctors, which means they go to medical school for four years and then spend at least five years in residency training learning about the diagnosis and treatment of mental health conditions. From there, many psychiatrists continue their training to become certified in areas of specialty, such as child and adolescent psychiatry, geriatric psychiatry, and addiction psychiatry.

In most states, psychiatrists are the only mental health practitioners who can prescribe medication. Psychiatrists are also trained in a variety of treatment modalities, including psychotherapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation TMS , and electroconvulsive therapy ECT.

Psychiatric Services in San Diego. Psychology is the study of thought, behavior, emotion, and other factors that help us glean insight into ourselves, our actions, and each other. Psychologists are often doctors, but not medical doctors. They might spend part of their time at a public hospital and the rest seeing patients at their own private practice. Dr Gary Galambos, psychiatrist. Use the Find a Psychiatrist directory to search for psychiatrists by subspecialty.

This is a general guide only, and does not replace individual medical advice. Please speak to your doctor for advice about your situation. Subject matter experts, people with lived experience of mental illness and carers all contributed to this fact sheet.

This website needs JavaScript enabled in order to work correctly; currently it looks like it is disabled. Please enable JavaScript to use this website as intended. Back to Psychiatry explained Home Psychiatry explained What's a psychiatrist? What's a psychiatrist? View print friendly version of this info. What is a psychiatrist? What does a psychiatrist do? Two-thirds of these patients are seen as outpatients, with the rest being seen in a hospital setting or, increasingly, in partial hospitalization or day programs and community residential programs.

Psychiatric hospitalization is now more intense, more focused, and much shorter in duration than in previous years. Additional professional activities include administration, teaching, consultation, and research. Today's psychiatrist provides a wide range of biological, psychotherapeutic and psychosocial treatments which are tailored to the specific needs of the patient. Psychiatrists use a wide variety of treatments including various forms of psychotherapy, medications, and hospitalization in accordance with the needs of each patient.

There are a number of effective medications that psychiatrist may prescribe to treat mental illness. A psychiatrist may recommend combining medications any number of psychotherapies. Psychotherapy is a systematic treatment method in which, during regularly scheduled meetings, the psychiatrist and patient discuss troubling problems and feelings.

The physician helps patients understand the basis of these problems and find solutions. Depending on the extent of the problem, treatment may take just a few sessions over one or two weeks, or many sessions over several years. Psychiatrists use many forms of psychotherapy. There are psychotherapies that help patients change behaviors or thought patterns, psychotherapies that help patients explore the effect of past relationships and experiences on present behaviors, psychotherapies that treat troubled couples or families together, and more treatments that are tailored to help solve other problems in specific ways.

Other types of psychotherapists, often called therapists, may also use psychotherapy to treat mental and emotional health conditions. These psychotherapists are at the masters level of education and require a particular license. A psychotherapist may use a variety of techniques to treat people, or they might specialize in one particular area. For example, different types of therapy include:.

To become a psychiatrist in the U. Once they have successfully passed the final written examination, they will receive a license to practice medicine. After medical training, the individual will then need to train for 4 years in a psychiatry residency. For the first year, trainee psychiatrists will usually work in a hospital setting, treating a variety of mental illnesses.

Training will include inpatient, outpatient, and emergency room situations. Over the next 3 years, the person will learn how to diagnose and treat mental health conditions. They will learn a wide range of treatment methods, including psychotherapy and psychiatric medicine.

Some psychiatrists may then choose to take on further training to become a specialist in a particular area of psychiatry. To become a board certified psychiatrist, it is necessary to complete a written and oral examination from the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.

Every psychiatrist must go through recertification every 10 years. Although it is voluntary to become board certified, obtaining this extra qualification indicates that a psychiatrist has had additional training and examination. It also shows that the psychiatrist meets national standards of education, experience, and skills. A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who can diagnose and treat a wide range of mental illnesses.