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FAQs:
What is a Psychiatrist?
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments, or strictly mental issues. Sometimes a psychiatrist works within a multi-disciplinary team, which may comprise clinical psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists, and nursing staff.
Psychiatrists have broad training in a biopsychosocial approach to the assessment and management of mental illness. As part of the clinical assessment process, psychiatrists may employ a mental status examination; a physical examination; brain imaging such as computerized tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, or positron emission tomography scan; and blood testing. Psychiatrists use pharmacologic, psychotherapeutic, and/or interventional approaches to treat mental disorders.
What Does a Psychiatrist Do?
A psychiatrist assesses, diagnoses, and treats mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders. Psychiatrists are medical doctors and can order or perform a variety of medical and/or psychological tests. These tests, combined with conversations about symptoms and medical and family history, allow psychiatrists to diagnose mental health conditions. Psychiatrists use criteria from the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM–5) to diagnose specific mental health conditions.Psychiatrists also form individualized treatment plans, which can include psychotherapy (talk therapy), medication, and other medical treatments.
Where Do Psychiatrists Work?
Psychiatrists work in a variety of settings, including private practices, clinics, general and psychiatric hospitals, academic health centers, community agencies, courts and prisons, nursing homes, industry, government, military settings, rehabilitation programs, emergency rooms, hospice programs, and many other places. About half of the psychiatrists in the U.S. maintain private practices and many psychiatrists work in multiple settings. There are about 45,000 psychiatrists in the U.S.
What is the Difference Between a Psychiatrist and a Psychologist?
A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who can diagnose and treat mental health conditions. They can prescribe medications and other medical treatments.
A psychologist has a doctoral degree (Ph.D.), typically in clinical psychology, and often has extensive training in research or clinical practice. Psychologists treat mental health conditions with psychotherapy (talk therapy). A psychologist can’t prescribe medication.
Psychiatrists typically treat more complex mental health conditions than psychologists, especially ones that require medication or medical treatments.
To give another perspective, psychology is the study of the mind, emotions, and behavior; whereas psychiatry is the field of medicine focused on diagnosing and treating mental health conditions.
What Questions Should I Ask My Psychiatrist?
It may be helpful to ask your psychiatrist the following questions during an appointment:
- What’s my diagnosis and how did you arrive at it?
- How much experience do you have in treating my condition?
- What are my treatment options?
- When can I expect to feel better?
- How will I know I’m feeling better?
- What should I do if I feel worse?
- Who do I contact with an emergency related to my condition?
- What are the side effects of my medication?
- Will you work with my other healthcare providers?
Is a Psychiatrist a Therapist?
A therapist has a master’s degree in a mental health-related field such as psychology, counseling psychology or family therapy. They’re qualified to evaluate a person’s mental health and use therapeutic techniques, such as talk therapy. Examples of therapists include licensed social workers and licensed professional clinical counselors. A therapist can’t prescribe medication. A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who can diagnose and prescribe medicine and medical treatment for mental health conditions.
Can a Psychiatrist Prescribe Medication?
A psychiatrist is a licensed medical professional who has completed psychiatric training. Psychiatrists are qualified to diagnose mental health conditions, provide therapy, and prescribe medication. They specialize in studying, preventing, diagnosing, and treating mental, emotional, developmental, and behavioral issues. Licensed psychiatrists diagnose mental health conditions and focus on addressing chemical imbalances in the brain. As such, they can assess a disorder’s physical and mental effects. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one must earn a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) or Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree and complete a residency training program in psychiatry to become a psychiatrist. Licensed psychiatrists, in the states where they practice, may also be designated as board-certified psychiatrists by the Board of Neurology and Psychiatry.
Do I Need a Referral to See a Psychiatrist?
If you’re looking to find a psychiatrist, you may be wondering if you need a referral first in order to schedule an appointment. Typically, you will need a referral to see a psychiatrist, especially if you want to have your psychiatry appointment covered by insurance. You can get a psychiatrist referral by going to your primary doctor and discussing the condition you are struggling with. Getting a psychiatrist referral from your doctor will help you find the right psychiatrist for your needs, and your appointments will likely be covered through insurance.
When Should I See a Psychiatrist?
Determining when to see a psychiatrist often requires a candid self-assessment of your symptoms and day-to-day experiences. While you shouldn’t try to self-diagnose any specific mental health conditions, you can become aware of and note behaviors, emotions and thought patterns that are unhealthy and disruptive to your everyday life.
While it can be difficult and overwhelming to seek help for mental health conditions, it’s essential to do so. Mental health conditions are very common, and your mental health is just as important as your physical health. In some cases, your primary healthcare provider may refer you to a psychiatrist if you share your symptoms with them. But you can usually go directly to a psychiatrist for a diagnosis and treatment plan if you prefer. Mental health episodes may happen randomly, infrequently or be constant. The important thing to remember is that if they’re negatively affecting your quality of life, it’s a clear sign you need to seek help.
If you have any of the following symptoms or experiences, you may want to consider seeing a psychiatrist or telling your primary healthcare provider:
- Inability to manage or control your emotions.
- Continuous or frequent episodes of anger or rage.
- Excessive or irrational fears.
- Engaging in risky behavior.
- Excessive worrying and/or sadness.
- Significant changes in sleep patterns.
- Substance use.
- Eating disorders.
- Declining performance in school or work.
- Withdrawal from social situations.
- Thoughts of self-harm.
Remember, there’s no shame in having or seeking help for a mental health condition. The sooner you seek help and treatment, the sooner you’ll feel better.
How Much Does a Psychiatrist Cost?
Psychiatrist appointments typically range from $100 to $200 per hour. However, initial consultations with a psychiatrist will likely be more expensive, between $300 and $500 dollars, since the initial consultation will usually take longer. This is especially why it can be important to get a referral from your doctor, as psychiatric appointments add up quickly.
What is Psychiatry?
Psychiatry is the branch of medicine focused on the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders. A psychiatrist is a medical doctor (an M.D. or D.O.) who specializes in mental health, including substance use disorders. Psychiatrists are qualified to assess both the mental and physical aspects of psychological problems. People seek psychiatric help for many reasons. The problems can be sudden, such as a panic attack, frightening hallucinations, thoughts of suicide, or hearing "voices." Or they may be more long-term, such as feelings of sadness, hopelessness, or anxiousness that never seem to lift or problems functioning, causing everyday life to feel distorted or out of control.
What a Psychiatrist Can Help With
A psychiatrist can be of particular help if your mental health condition:
- is complex or difficult to diagnose
- involves suicidal ideas or plans
- is severe or happens suddenly
- needs medication that only a psychiatrist can prescribe
- isn’t responding to standard treatment through your GP (family doctor).
Common Reasons Why Someone Might See A Psychiatrist
Here are the common reasons why someone might see a psychiatrist:
- problems adjusting after major life changes or stress
- anxiety, worry, or fear
- depressed or low mood that doesn’t go away
- suicidal thinking
- thoughts of hurting other people
- hurting yourself on purpose
- too much energy, being unable to sleep, wind down or relax
- constant negative thoughts
- obsessional thinking
- feeling on edge or jumpy
- feeling like people are after you or want to harm you
- hallucinations (hearing or seeing things that aren’t there)
- delusions (fixed beliefs with no basis in reality)
- rushing, disjointed thoughts
- out of control alcohol or drug use
- problem gambling, gaming, or other addictive behaviors
- problems around body image, eating or dieting
- memory problems
- poor concentration and attention, hyperactivity
- violence, agitation, or emotional outbursts
- insomnia and other sleep problems
- conditions that start in childhood such as autism, intellectual disability, and childhood anxiety.
Treatments that a Psychiatrist Can Provide
Medications a psychiatrist might prescribe include:
- antidepressants
- antipsychotic medications
- mood stabilizers
- stimulants
- Sedatives
After you start taking the medication, they’ll monitor your symptoms to keep track of signs of improvement, along with any side effects you experience. Based on this information, they might change your dose or prescribe a different medication. Sometimes, they’ll also order regular, ongoing lab work to make sure the medication doesn’t affect immune system function or the health of your liver, kidney, and other organs. Psychiatrists can also prescribe other types of treatments, including:
- Electroconvulsive therapy. Electroconvulsive therapy involves applying electrical currents to the brain. A psychiatrist might recommend ECT for severe depression and bipolar disorder, when symptoms don’t respond to any other types of treatment.
- Other types of brain stimulation. Both vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) can help treat severe depression symptoms. With TMS, a coil placed on your scalp delivers magnetic pulses to your brain. With VNS, a generator implanted in your chest, just under your skin, delivers ongoing electrical pulses to your vagus nerve.
- Light therapy. This approach involves the use of artificial light to treat symptoms of depression. It’s often recommended for seasonal depression, especially when you live somewhere that doesn’t get a lot of sunlight.
Different Types of Psychiatrists
The medical field of psychiatry is a specialty that focuses on mental health and psychological well-being. Psychiatrists are medical doctors who specialize in diagnosing, treating, and preventing mental health conditions. But, did you know that there are different types of psychiatrists with varying levels of qualifications, specializations, and treatment methods who can help?
General Adult Psychiatrists
General adult psychiatrists are medical doctors who specialize in diagnosing and treating various mental health conditions, such as bipolar disorder or depression, in adults. They can diagnose a wide range of mental health disorders, as well as provide different mental health services such as psychotherapy, medication management, and behavioral interventions to help patients manage their symptoms.
Child And Adolescent Psychiatry
Child and adolescent psychiatrists are medical doctors who specialize in diagnosing and treating mental health conditions in children and adolescents. Adolescent psychiatry focuses on the mental health problems that children and adolescents are most prone to, such as behavioral issues, learning disorders, anxiety, eating disorders, and LGBTQ issues. Child and adolescent psychiatrists are specifically trained to work with young people and can provide comprehensive evaluations and treatment plans tailored to the individual needs of each patient.
Forensic Psychiatrists
Forensic psychiatrists are medical doctors who specialize in psychiatric evaluations and testifying in court proceedings. They may be asked to provide their expert opinion on criminal cases or mental health-related legal issues. Forensic psychiatrists can be consulted by other physicians or lawyers, and they may also conduct independent evaluations for the court system.
Family Psychiatry
Family psychiatrists are medical doctors who specialize in working with couples and families to diagnose and treat relationship-related mental health issues. They can provide counseling, as well as help families develop communication and conflict-resolution skills.
Online Psychiatry Options
With the rise of telemedicine, psychiatrists can now offer treatments online through apps or video conferences. Online psychiatry options are becoming increasingly popular as they can provide more convenient and flexible treatment for those who may not be able to access traditional psychiatrists in person. An online psychiatrist can treat all kinds of mental health conditions and can typically provide the same services that an in-person psychiatrist can. As you are looking through online psychiatry options, be sure to ensure you are retaining the services of a medical doctor rather than a psychologist if you need medication management services.
The Different Psychiatrist Specialities
In addition to these branches of psychiatry, there are also a number of subspecialties that focus on specific areas such as geriatrics, addiction, sleep disorders, anxiety disorders, or eating disorders.
1. Geriatric Psychiatry
Geriatric psychiatrists specialize in diagnosing and treating mental health issues in older adults. They can provide treatments for dementia, depression, anxiety, as well as age-related cognitive decline. For instance, they may use medications and other therapies such as psychotherapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, or family therapy.
2. Addiction Psychiatry
Addiction psychiatrists specialize in treating substance use disorders including addiction to drugs and alcohol. Addition psychiatrists may also specialize in behavioral addictions including sex addiction, technology addiction, and more. They can provide treatments such as psychotherapy, behavior modification, medication management, and lifestyle modifications to help patients overcome their addictions.
3. Sleep Disorder Psychiatry
Sleep disorder psychiatrists specialize in diagnosing and treating sleep disorders such as insomnia, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, and restless leg syndrome. They may use medications to treat the underlying cause of the disorder or recommend lifestyle changes to improve the patient’s sleep patterns.
4. Anxiety Disorders Psychiatry
Anxiety disorders psychiatrists specialize in diagnosing and treating conditions such as panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, phobias, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). They can provide psychotherapy, medications, and lifestyle modifications to help patients manage their mental health conditions.
5. Eating Disorder Psychiatry
Eating disorder psychiatrists specialize in diagnosing and treating eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge-eating disorder, and avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder. They can provide psychotherapy, medications, and lifestyle modifications to help patients overcome their condition.
Diagnostic Tools Used By Psychiatrists
Psychiatrists diagnose mental disorders using criteria outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 5th Edition (DSM-5). They will ask about your symptoms and determine whether they match the criteria in the DSM-5 for a particular mental disorder.
They may use additional diagnostic tools to gauge the severity of your mental disorder. These may include:
- Anxiety tests, such as the Beck Anxiety Inventory and Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale
- Depression tests, such as the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and the Beck Hopelessness Scale
- Eating disorder tests, such as the Minnesota Eating Behavior Survey and the Eating Disorder Examination
- Mood disorder tests, such as the My Mood Monitor Screen and the Altman Self-Rating Mania Scale
- Personality disorder tests, such as the Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure and the McLean Screening Instrument for Borderline Personality Disorder
- Psychosis tests, such as the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms and the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms
They may also order other tests to rule out physical conditions that could be causing your symptoms, including:
- Brain imaging tests such as computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and positron emission tomography (PET) to check for tumors, hemorrhage, or lesions
- Blood tests to check blood chemistry, electrolytes, liver function, and kidney function that may directly or indirectly impact the brain
- Drug screening to detect illicit or pharmaceutical drugs in a blood or urine sample
- Electroencephalogram (EEG) to identify electrical irregularities in the brain, including epilepsy
How to Choose Which Form of Psychiatry is Right For You
Now that you know the different types of psychiatrists and online psychiatry options available, you can start to consider which type is right for you. Here are some tips to help you make the best decision:
1. Think about your needs and goals: Before you begin exploring the various forms of psychiatry, it’s important to think about what kind of help and support you’re looking for. Are you looking for a long-term relationship with a psychiatrist who can help you manage your mental health? Or do you need more immediate, short-term assistance on an issue or problem?
2. Consider the availability of services: Depending on where you live, some forms of psychiatry may be more difficult to access than others. If you live in a rural or remote area, online psychiatry options may be your best bet. If you’re looking for an in-person psychiatrist, research the availability of these services in your local community.
3. Look into the qualifications and experience: When it comes to finding a good psychiatrist, qualifications and experience matter. Research a few different psychiatrists to see who has the most relevant credentials and expertise.
4. Ask for recommendations: Talk to your family, friends, and healthcare professionals about which type of psychiatry might be right for you. Hearing their thoughts can help guide your decision-making process.
5. Evaluate your budget: Different types of psychiatrists charge different fees for their services. Make sure to factor in your budget when making your decision. It’s important to understand that some psychiatrists are in-network with insurance, while others are private pay. Whether or not your provider accepts your specific insurance plan can make a big difference in your out-of-pocket cost.
Making the right choice can be overwhelming, but don’t forget that you have options! Take some time to evaluate each option and determine which type of psychiatrist is best suited to your individual needs and goals.
What to Expect During an Appointment with a Psychiatrist
To get the most out of your appointment with your psychiatrist, it’s helpful to be prepared. Ways to prepare include:
1. Bring a list of the most important issues you want to discuss with your psychiatrist.
2. Discuss new symptoms or changes in existing or prior symptoms. Consider keeping a day-to-day journal of your symptoms so it’s easier to keep track of how your symptoms change or affect your quality of life.
3. Discuss any changes in your overall physical health.
4. Discuss your family’s history of physical and mental health conditions.
5. Share with your psychiatrist how others see you doing, especially family, friends and co-workers who really care about you.
6. Bring a list of all the current medications and substances you take. Include prescription medications; over-the-counter medications; any vitamins, supplements and herbal products; and any recreational drugs.
Where to Find a Psychiatrist
There are a few places to go when you are looking for a psychiatrist. Here's a list of some of the most common places to consider.
1. Through your Healthcare Provider
If you are looking for a psychiatrist, the most reliable first step is to speak to your doctor or healthcare provider. Your doctor will give you a list of certified and dependable psychiatrists to choose from. After this is done, take some time to conduct your research into each of the names on your list.
2. Speak to Family and Friends
While you might be reluctant to tell your family and loved ones that you are looking for a psychiatrist, they could be a great resource to help you find a fantastic one. They can point you in the direction of psychiatrists they have tried, or they've come across in their personal lives or at work. They can also assist in helping you do the groundwork involved in looking for a psychiatrist. Your family and friends have your best interest at heart and will do their best to find you a great fit.
3. Do Some Research Online
The internet has many resources to help you find a great psychiatrist. However, you don't want to pick the first person you see. It would be best if you remembered to do thorough research into each potential psychiatrist you consider. The directory at the American Psychiatric Association is a good place to start.
4. Consider Medical Journals
Reading medical journals can seem like an unusual way to find a psychiatrist, but it's one to consider. You can look up research articles relevant to your particular condition and come up with a list of psychiatrists by looking at the authors of these articles.
You can reach out to them, and even though they might not be a good fit for your needs, they may be able to refer you to someone who is.
Sources:
The content herein is provided for general informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Medical information changes constantly, and therefore the content on this website should not be assumed to be current, complete or exhaustive. Always seek the advice of your doctor before starting or changing treatment. If you think you may have a medical emergency, please call your doctor or 9-1-1 (in the United States) immediately.
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