What Is Psychiatry?

 

In its ongoing attempts to define, understand, and categorise mental, emotional, and behavioural disorders, and determine the best treatments, the medical specialty of psychiatry is always up against the deep complexity of the human brain. Psychiatrists conduct research on a wide range of mental conditions and treatment approaches, and the field produces and periodically revises classification systems such as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), widely used by clinicians use as a guide for diagnosis.

 

Symptoms of mental illness and distress stem from both biological and environmental factors, including maladaptive patterns of behaviour and even diet. The contribution each makes to disorder varies from person to person. Although many types of mental health practitioners administer psychotherapy, practicing psychiatrists—who are trained as medical doctors—can also prescribe psychotropic medication as part of the treatment they provide. Both psychotherapy and drugs have been proven effective for many psychiatric disorders. Often a combination of the two works best.