Psychiatrists are doctors. They specialize in the diagnosis, treatment
and prevention of mental illnesses and emotional problems. Their medical background
helps them understand the complex relationship between the mind and body,
and how both are supposed to function. They use this knowledge to distinguish
between a physical and psychological illness.
Patients usually turn to a psychiatrist when they are diagnosed with illnesses
such as schizophrenia or identity disorders. But psychiatrists also treat
those who suffer from severe depression, obsessive-compulsive disorders, panic
attacks and alcohol or drug addiction.
Because they are physicians, psychiatrists can order or perform a full
range of medical laboratory and psychological tests that provide a complete
picture of a patient's physical and mental state. Their medical experience
helps them evaluate all the medical and psychological data, make a diagnosis
and then develop a treatment plan.
Psychiatrists use a wide range of treatments -- including various forms
of psychotherapy (discussion sessions between physician and patient), medications
and hospitalization -- according to the needs of each patient.
Psychiatrists use medications that are effective against mental illnesses
such as depression, anxiety disorders or schizophrenia. These medicines fight
imbalances in brain chemistry and help to control a particular disease.
Many psychiatrists become subspecialists, which involves more training
after the initial four years of specialization in psychiatry. These specialists
may study child and adolescent psychiatry, geriatric psychiatry, forensic
psychiatry, emergency psychiatry or community or military psychiatry.
One of the hurdles for the profession has always been battling the stigma
of mental illness.
"It's frustrating to know there are patients who could benefit from treatment
but who are afraid to seek it," says Dr. Diane Watson. "This is becoming increasingly
important in our multicultural society, where we have some cultures where
the shame [of mental illness] is even worse than in our own."
"People are ashamed to have these illnesses," says Dr. Molly Finnerty,
who works in New York.
Finnerty says people don't hesitate to go to a doctor if they have symptoms
of a physical disease, such as diabetes. But seeking out a psychiatrist is
something.
"It's difficult for people to separate who they are from what they have,"
Finnerty says. "People don't think to themselves, 'I'm just meant to have
horribly high blood sugars and have to go to the bathroom every five minutes.'
But they might think their personality is such that they have to be depressed."
People in this profession are employed in a wide variety of areas. Most
work in either general or psychiatric hospitals, but there are others who
work in university medical centers, courts and prisons, military settings,
schools and universities, emergency rooms and hospices. Just as many work
in private practice, either as independents or as part of a group practice.
The field of psychiatry has benefited in recent years from the development
of new drug therapies. Medications such as Prozac have improved the lives
of millions of people who suffer from depression. Dr. Werner Pankratz says
the profession is now on the cutting edge of a profound change.
"The information database is just exploding," he says. "It's going to be
a very exciting future."
Part of that future will involve work in the areas of biochemistry, genes
and the interplay between society and psychology.
"All of these things contribute to an understanding of how these factors
can impact on the brain and result in mental illness," says Pankratz. "Twenty
years from now people will probably look back to today and think we're in
the Dark Ages."