Mental health has been recognized as one of the prerequisites of a person’s well-being. And whenever the topic of mental health is brought up that it is inevitable that the terms Psychiatry, Psychiatrist, Psychology, etc. also crop up. In this article, I aim to briefly describe what exactly all these terms mean and also try to address some of the frequently asked questions.
Psychiatry is the branch of medicine focused on diagnosing, treating, and preventing mental, emotional, and behavioural disorders.
A Psychiatrist is a medical doctor who specializes in mental health-related issues, it means that the individual has undergone training as a doctor and following which has specialized in the field of psychiatry.
What does a psychiatrist do?
A psychiatrist works in basically the same way as other doctors. They collect detailed information from the patient based on the presenting problems, and at times if necessary, from other sources such as family, friends, past medical records, etc. They may at times recommend that a patient to undergo detailed evaluation apart from the regular physical check-up including blood tests, imaging tests such as a CT scan or even psychological tests if circumstances indicate. Based on all the data the psychiatrist tries to arrive at a diagnosis for the patients presenting problem. Depending on the diagnosis, treatment recommendations are made such as medicines, psychotherapy, and other treatments such as E.C.T. based on each individual patient’s situation.
Is there a specific test for a psychiatric illness?
This has been one of the major drawbacks of psychiatric treatment. The brain is the most complex part of the human body and its understanding is still poor, although, we have come a long way. With the development of technology, progress has been made in trying to understand the underlying chemical changes in the brain but even now its day-to-day application is limited.
Most psychiatric diagnoses it is based on the patient’s information, the doctor’s observation and assessment based on standard diagnostic criteria. Unless there is a specific physical problem suspected to cause the psychiatric presentation e.g.: Increased thyroid hormone levels presenting with symptoms of anxiety, etc. the role of tests is limited.
What Kinds of Illnesses do Psychiatrists treat?
Psychiatrists treat a wide variety of illnesses across all age groups. Nowadays though super specialties have started in psychiatry, it is not available everywhere and most psychiatrists are usually equipped to deal with most mental health problems. The commonly treated problems in psychiatry include-
- Mental illnesses associated with childhood, adulthood and old age.
- Drug-related problems.
- Treatment of mental illnesses and behavioural problems associated with neurological conditions.
- Sexual disorders.
- Liaison with other medical professionals and provide services for psychological issues as part of the holistic treatment of medical conditions.
Is there a difference between a psychiatrist and
a psychologist?
Yes, there is.
Psychology is the scientific discipline that deals with behaviour and with the mental processes underlying behaviour. The field has many branches, a major one being clinical psychology which is concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses.
A Psychologist is a person who has specialized in the field of psychology. They treat with psychotherapy and specialize in psychological testing and evaluation.
Both psychiatrists and psychologists are mental health professionals who work with the goal of treating mental illnesses and alleviating suffering. But due to the differences in training their approaches will differ.
The major differences are-
| Psychiatrist | Psychologist |
| Holds a medical degree | May hold a doctorate in psychology but not a medical degree |
| Can prescribe medicines | Cannot prescribe medicines |
| Treats mainly by medicines, can also treat by psychotherapy | Treats mainly through various psychotherapy approaches |
| Does not do Psychology testing | Does psychology testing |
Generally, in practice, most psychiatrists treat via medicines, while psychologists deal with the therapy aspect. Treatment via both means has its advantages and Limitations and, depending on the scenario at times one kind of treatment may be more helpful than the other. Usually, psychiatrists and psychologists work in collaboration in caring for the patient.
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