Understanding the Role of Psychiatrists: Bridging Mental Health and Medicine
What is a Psychiatrist?
In the world of healthcare, there are a vast number of different job opportunities for individuals with different preferences. If you want to take care of children, a pediatrician is the way to go! If you want to take care of people's teeth, a dentist is most likely your dream job. But is there a job where you can combine both healthcare and mental health? Absolutely, and it’s called a psychiatrist! A psychiatrist is a doctor that specializes in diagnosing, treating, and preventing mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders. Psychiatrists are qualified to prescribe medications, offer psychotherapy, and provide a number of different treatments depending on a patient’s needs. Psychiatrists often treat patients of all ages and can even be specialized further into child and adolescent psychiatry, addiction psychiatry, forensic psychiatry, and more. There are four main key roles in a psychiatrist; diagnosis, treatment, prescribing medication, and collaboration. Psychiatrists will first assess and diagnose mental health conditions then create individualized treatment plans, prescribe medication and monitor the effects of it, and lastly, collaborate with social workers, psychologists, or other healthcare professionals to provide the best care possible for their patients.
Why is Psychiatry Important?
Psychiatry is very important because it plays a vital role in addressing health issues revolving around mental health. Mental health is a significant part of the human body and helps individuals with certain things such as allowing them to cope with life’s stresses, build healthy relationships, being able to work productively and efficiently, and more. Unfortunately, in today’s world, mental health conditions are a common problem within communities, affecting millions of people globally. Psychiatrists are the ones who can provide specialized care that help the affected patients understand and manage their conditions effectively. Without proper psychiatric care, one’s mental health can lead to several severe consequences such as substance abuse, unemployment, or even in the worst case scenario, suicide. Psychiatrists not only work with the patients to prevent the conditions, but also offer a sense of hope and healing to those struggling. Furthermore, psychiatry is essential in breaking the stigma around mental health. By advocating and providing awareness for mental health, psychiatrists can form a society where seeking help is normalized and encouraged.
Mental Health Disorders Treated by Psychiatrists:
There are many different common mental health disorders treated by psychiatrists such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, bipolar disorder, and more. Psychiatrists are trained to diagnose and address these mental health disorders ranging from common to severe cases. For instance, depression is one of the most common disorders that people from all over the world have to face. Depression is characterized by sadness, loss of interest in activities once loved, difficulty concentrating and more. The common treatments for depression are psychotherapy, medications, and lifestyle recommendations. In more severe cases, there is a disorder known as schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is characterized by affecting how a person thinks, feels, and behaves clearly. This disorder in more severe cases, can make a person have persistent hallucinations, have paranoia or bizarre delusions, or severe cognitive impairment. All of these heavily affect a person's day to day life. Whether a mental health condition is on the common or severe side, there are several ways it can be addressed and treated. Psychiatrists will provide their patients with the treatment and care they need and deserve, so don’t be afraid to seek help when needed.
Training and Education:
Training and education can be difficult and rigorous for those wanting to go down the psychiatry path. It can take over a decade, since psychiatrists are medical doctors who specialize in mental health, meaning they need to complete medical school and further advanced training. Individuals who wish to become a psychiatrist first need to earn a bachelor’s degree, completing prerequisite coursework for medical school, including biology, chemistry, physics, and math. They also need to earn experience from volunteer work, internships, or research. This takes four years and students will then earn a bachelor's degree in a science-related field such as biology, psychology, or neuroscience. Then, students will need to take the MCAT, which is a standardized test required for admission into medical school. This test will assess students for their knowledge of science, critical thinking skills, and more. This is important since a competitive score is crucial for getting accepted into a good medical school. After getting accepted into medical school, students then have to complete four years in it. Medical school is divided into two phases; preclinical phase and clinical phase. Preclinical phase allows students to focus on the foundational medical sciences, including anatomy, biochemistry, etc. Clinical phase, on the other hand, lets students complete rotations in various specialities such as internal medicine, pediatrics, surgery, and psychiatry. This allows students to gain more hands-on experience. Medical school overall teaches students a broad understanding of the human body and its systems, including physical and mental health. After completing medical school, aspiring psychiatrists must pass the United States Licensing Examination or the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination to practice medicine. These exams assess knowledge and clinical skills to apply medical principles in practice. After this, a psychiatry residency is needed and it requires four years to complete. During the residency, residents will be able to train in mental health care and work under the supervision of experienced psychiatrists in clinics, hospitals, or emergency departments. Next, psychiatrists can choose to pursue additional training in a subspeciality area, but not required. After all of this training and education, psychiatrists will be able to become board certified by passing the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology Exam. Psychiatrists are still required to stay updated on advances in mental health by completing ongoing education throughout their career, including attending conferences, engaging in research, etc.
Challenges and Rewards of Being a Psychiatrist:
There are many challenges that a psychiatrist can face before or during their career. First, it is a long process in order to become a psychiatrist while upholding a lot of commitment. During the career, psychiatrists may be affected by the stigma around mental health, as this can make building trust with patients more difficult. It may also discourage individuals to seek help in general. There is also complexity of diagnoses, such as misdiagnosis or delays in diagnosis, causing ineffective treatment plans and frustrated patients. Psychiatrists also have to make high stake decisions at times that can impact a patient’s safety. These decisions can heavily affect emotional weight, leading to lasting consequences for both the patient and psychiatrist. Above all of this, psychiatrists are easily prone to stress and emotional burnout. They may be required to listen to emotionally intense cases at times, which often leads to a lack of ability to take care of themselves and maintain personal well-being. There are many challenges but with challenges, comes rewards. Psychiatrists are changing lives everyday, helping their patients overcome mental health challenges and regain their quality of life. This can be incredibly fulfilling and affirming for anyone. There are also diverse career opportunities, ranging from academic research to consultation in legal or corporate settings. This allows them to tailor their careers to their interests. Being a psychiatrist comes with the chance of personal growth. Psychiatry requires a high amount of empathy, active listening, and emotional intelligence, which can oftentimes lead to personal growth and broaden their perspective of the human experience. Lastly, psychiatrists are always contributing to the advancement of mental health science. They have the potential to participate in groundbreaking research that can impact and shape the future of mental health care.
Written By: Amy Lian
Sources
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22702-psychiatrist
