What does a psychiatrist do?
Psychiatry is a medical branch that recognizes, treats, and prevents mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders. A certified psychiatrist focuses on mental health issues (psychiatry), including substance use problems. Trained psychiatrists can evaluate psychological issues from both mental and physical perspectives.
People seek psychiatric help to solve various mental or behavioral issues. These issues might come on suddenly, like a panic attack, terrifying hallucinations, suicidal thoughts, or hearing "voices," they can linger over time, like persistent melancholy, hopelessness, anxiety, or functional issues that make life feel chaotic or out of control.
When you schedule an appointment, a psychiatrist will inquire about your physical and mental problems. A medical examination, laboratory testing, or psychological assessment may also be required. Psychiatrists use the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) to help identify potential mental illnesses. This guidebook, created by the American Psychiatric Association, is used by psychiatrists to diagnose.
There are numerous types of mental illnesses, including schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders like — trauma and stressors, bipolar disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, depressive and anxiety disorders, eating disorders, elimination disorders, sleep disorders, sexual dysfunctions, gender dysphoria, substance-related and addictive disorders, and personality disorders. A proper diagnosis can require more than one visit. Following this, they create an appropriate plan of treatment.
What kind of education and training do psychiatrists receive?
To become a psychiatrist, individuals must undergo extensive education and training. This typically means completing medical school and clearing a written examination for a state medical license. After this, they embark on a four-year psychiatry residency, which can extend to 14 years for those specializing in child and adolescent psychiatry.
During the first year of residency, psychiatrists-in-training work in hospitals, gaining experience with various medical conditions. Subsequent years focus specifically on diagnosing and treating mental health disorders, encompassing psychotherapy, psychiatric medications, and other therapeutic approaches. Training occurs across diverse settings such as offices, hospitals, emergency rooms, and community sites like primary care facilities.
Upon completing residency, most psychiatrists pursue board certification through exams administered by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, a process that requires periodic recertification every ten years. Some psychiatrists choose to undergo additional specialized training beyond the standard four-year residency.
What are the various subspecialties in psychiatry?
Psychiatry offers several subspecialties that allow practitioners to specialize in specific areas:
1. Forensic psychiatry: Involves applying psychiatric principles in legal and criminal justice settings, such as evaluating defendants' mental competency.
2. Geriatric psychiatry: Addresses mental health issues in older adults, including dementia, depression, and anxiety.
3. Addiction psychiatry: Focuses on treating individuals with substance use disorders and related conditions.
4. Adolescent and child psychiatry: Specializes in diagnosing/treating mental health problems faced by children and adolescents.
5. Psychosomatic medicine: Integrates psychiatric principles into medical settings, addressing conditions where mental and physical health interact, such as delirium in hospitalized patients.
6. Neuropsychiatry: Deals with mental disorders stemming from nervous system injuries or diseases affecting the brain.
7. Occupational psychiatry: Focuses on mental health in workplace settings, particularly in jobs with high-risk factors or psychological stressors.
These subspecialties allow psychiatrists to deepen their expertise and tailor their practice to specific patient populations or complex clinical contexts.
What treatment do they employ?
Depending on the situation, psychiatrists employ a range of therapies, such as different types of psychotherapy, drugs, behavioral interventions, and other treatments (such as electroconvulsive therapy). This therapy uses verbal exchanges between the patient and the therapist as part of its foundation to address a wide range of mental illnesses and emotional issues.
Any number of interventions, including talk therapy, vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), transcranial magnetic stimulation, deep brain stimulation (DBS), medications, and light therapy, which primarily targets seasonal depression, may be used in the course of treatment (TMS). Psychiatrists frequently prescribe antidepressants, antipsychotics, stimulants, hypnotics, sedatives, anxiolytics, mood stabilizers, and other drugs.
How are psychiatrists and psychologists different?
Although their fields share many similarities, psychiatrists, and psychologists are distinct professionals. Both professionals offer one-on-one care to patients who require support with their mental health. However, their antecedents, degrees of education, and areas of expertise range significantly.
A psychiatrist is a medical professional who has finished medical school and residency, followed by further training in psychiatry. They can perform psychotherapy, give a medical prescription, and perform other medical procedures.
Psychiatry means "medical care of the soul." Psychotherapy is a treatment method psychiatrists and psychologists use to assist their patients. However, psychiatrists also study how a person's genetic factors affect their mental health and how to use medicines to treat mental diseases.
On the other hand, a psychologist often holds a doctorate, primarily in clinical psychology, and frequently receives considerable training in research and clinical practice. Some psychologists are experts in psychological testing and evaluation.
Before it became a separate academic field in the middle of the eighteenth century, psychology—the study of the mind, emotions, and behavior—was regarded as a subfield of philosophy. Psychologists study the cognitive and social aspects that affect people's behavior. They use a range of therapeutic strategies to assist patients in recovering from trauma and enhancing their mental health.
Top reasons to visit a psychiatrist near you
Mental health problems can often lead to multiple physical health complications. Therefore, you must never ignore them. Some people may feel apprehensive about visiting a psychiatrist. However, such a visit is crucial for your overall mental health and well-being.
Here are the top reasons to see a psychiatrist:
The feeling of loneliness is one of the most challenging mental health issues to cope with. Such feelings exaggerate or worsen your existing problems or struggles. People require a robust support system at home or with their families to help deal with their loneliness. A psychiatrist can provide proper mental therapy and offer a support structure to comfort them by validating and acknowledging their feelings and guiding them toward holistic mental healing.
- Showing signs of a severe mental health issue
Psychiatric disorders like bipolar disorder and schizophrenia need immediate attention and treatment. A person with bipolar disorder violently shifts between manic behavior and depressive episodes. Similarly, schizophrenia causes psychosis, wherein a person experiences hallucinations and delusions.
These conditions need immediate treatment to manage the symptoms and heal effectively. If ignored, these symptoms can severely degrade the person's overall mental health, and they may even turn to substance abuse or drugs to manage their symptoms. Psychiatrists conduct therapies and prescribe medications to effectively manage such illnesses and their symptoms.
- Difficulty coping with day-to-day problems
Day-to-day problems can add to your life's stress and anxiety build-up. As a result, you may find it very difficult to control your emotional and behavioral reactions. Therapy sessions with your psychiatrist can help you understand your mental illness and its symptoms. You'll learn to control your emotions and behaviors, enabling you to cope better with your day-to-day problems.
Suppose a person resists doing the activities they usually enjoy or no longer finds pleasure and happiness in them. It may be a serious sign of a mental health issue. Depression is the most common cause of such withdrawal behaviors in a person. Psychiatrists use appropriate therapy to uncover the underlying causes of such feelings and create a treatment plan to tackle the problem effectively.
Fear, worry, and tension are common reactions when encountering uncertainty or the unknown. With COVID-19, people went through that — worrying about significant changes in their daily lives and the fear of acquiring the virus.
A fatal and infectious illness called COVID-19 became widespread in 2020. Individuals, as well as medical professionals who care for them, have documented numerous psychiatric problems linked to COVID-19. Experts found it troubling because COVID-19 adversely affected people with psychiatric conditions because of difficulties adhering to social distancing and routine handwashing, reduced understanding, and problems identifying the risk of infection.
Additionally, it indicated that some doctors exposed to COVID-19 developed psychological problems and disorders such as traumatic distress, worry, depression, and insomnia. Accordingly, individuals who recovered from acute COVID-19 were more susceptible to mental health issues like cognitive decline, sleep difficulties, anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), and substance use disorders.
Maintaining physical and mental health was challenging when faced with the changed circumstances of working from home, home-schooling of children, temporary unemployment, and lack of social interaction with other family members, friends, and co-workers.
How do you find a psychiatrist in Brooklyn, New York?
If you're experiencing emotional or mental difficulties, seeing a psychiatrist near you can help. In addition to making diagnoses, a mental health physician can also administer treatments. As the type of treatment is talk therapy, it might take some time to establish a connection with the psychiatrist. Ideally, choose a therapist with whom to have a comfortable and honest conversation. With its vast database, Zocdoc can quickly match you with the best psychiatrist and assist you in finding one.
Search for the kind of professional you require, like a 'psychiatrist,' and provide your location, such as 'Brooklyn,' the symptoms you are experiencing, and the current health insurance plan. Zocdoc will compile a list of specialists in Brooklyn based on your requirements. Each listed doctor's profile will show information about their education, training, awards, experience, accreditations, expertise, etc. You can also read past patients' verified reviews and ratings to choose wisely.
If you're looking for dentists who accept your insurance, our online patient help center can help. On Zocdoc, you can link your medical, dental, and vision insurance plans directly to your account. However, each appointment can only be billedto one insurance plan.
If you have multiple insurance plans, there's no need to worry. You can include details about your secondary insurance in the appointment notes. Furthermore, if your provider utilizes Zocdoc's Intake forms, you can conveniently enter your secondary insurance information to streamline the process.
Furthermore, you may reduce the pool of therapists by using other parameters like the desired gender, specialist's language, visit purpose, time, pediatric care, and hospital affiliations. You can schedule an in-person or video consultation once you find a psychiatrist best suited to your needs. You can also make an appointment after business hours, for the same day, or within the next few days.
Booking appointments with psychiatrists near you on Zocdoc is simple, safe, and free.
Mental health statistics of Brooklyn, New York
According to the Mayor's Office of Community Mental Health, one in five New Yorkers experiences mental illness yearly. That roughly equates to about 65% of Brooklyn's population.
As per the 2021 National Alliance on Mental Illness, about 591,000 adults in New York suffer a severe mental illness each year, and nearly 2,802,000 adults in New York state have a mental health condition. In 2021, around 35.8% of adults reported having anxiety or depressive symptoms. Almost 20.2% of those could not receive the required therapy or counseling. About 145,000 young people (ages 12 to 17) are diagnosed with depression annually. The research also highlights that nearly 1 in 6 individuals have significant mental diseases, and about 91,271 are homeless. About 1,723 people died of suicide in the past year, and almost 558,000 adults had suicidal thoughts.
Sources
American Psychiatric Association
WebMD
Mayor's Office of Community Mental Health
National Alliance of Mental Illness
Psychology.org
World Health Organization
UpToDate
NYC Psychiatric Associates
Verywell Mind
