Psychiatry is the branch of medicine dedicated to understanding, diagnosing, treating, and preventing mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders. It bridges the biological and psychological aspects of health, making it one of the most interdisciplinary fields in medicine43dcd9a7-70db-4a1f-b0ae-981daa162054.

Here’s a structured overview:

🧠 What Psychiatry Covers

- Mental illnesses: Depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, PTSD, OCD, and more.

- Behavioral issues: Such as addiction, eating disorders, and impulse control.

- Neurodevelopmental disorders: Including ADHD and autism spectrum disorders.

🩺 What Psychiatrists Do

- Medical doctors (MD or DO) who specialize in mental health.

- Can prescribe medications, unlike psychologists.

- Use a combination of psychotherapy, medication, and sometimes interventional treatments like electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) or transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)43dcd9a7-70db-4a1f-b0ae-981daa162054.

🧪 Diagnostic Tools

- Clinical interviews and mental status exams.

- Psychological testing and sometimes neuroimaging.

- Diagnosis often follows criteria in the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)43dcd9a7-70db-4a1f-b0ae-981daa162054.

🧬 Treatment Approaches

- Psychotherapy: Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), psychoanalysis, interpersonal therapy, etc.

- Pharmacotherapy: Antidepressants, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, anxiolytics, and stimulants.

- Lifestyle interventions: Sleep hygiene, nutrition, and stress management.

🧑‍⚕️ Subspecialties

- Child and adolescent psychiatry

- Geriatric psychiatry

- Addiction psychiatry

- Forensic psychiatry

- Consultation-liaison psychiatry (linking physical and mental health)