Psychiatrists can specialize in areas such as addiction, disaster, child/adolescent, geriatric, gay/lesbian, HIV, and sports psychiatry. All psychiatrists complete a four-year bachelor’s program, four-year medical school program, and residency. Specialized training can follow. Psychiatrists can prescribe medication and use therapy to treat a range of emotional and mental disorders. Specialized psychiatrists serve specific demographics, such as children, the elderly, disaster victims, and athletes.
In addition to general practitioner psychiatrists, there are different specialist types of psychiatrists, including addiction psychiatrists, disaster psychiatrists, and child/adolescent psychiatrists. Sports psychiatrists, geriatric psychiatrists, gay/lesbian psychiatrists, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) psychiatrists are among the other professionals. All types of psychiatrists must complete four-year bachelor’s programs, usually in science, followed by four-year medical school programs and then residencies, which can also last four years. Specialized training can take place after that.
Psychiatrists often lack specialized training and treat a wide range of people suffering from emotional and mental disorders, without regard to age, background or special interests. Unlike psychologists, psychiatrists in general, like all types of psychiatrists, are licensed physicians who are able to prescribe medication for psychological illnesses. Through an independent practice or affiliation with a hospital or clinic, a general psychiatrist can treat a range of illnesses ranging from bipolar disorder to schizophrenia, using behavioral, interpersonal, or psychodynamic therapy.
Specialized psychiatrists serve a specific demographic. The most common specialist in the field of psychiatry is the child and adolescent psychiatrist, who serves children under the age of 18. These professionals treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, Asperger’s syndrome, and other illnesses common in children, including depression. These psychiatrists often work in residential or outpatient treatment centers for troubled or mentally challenged young people.
Disaster psychiatrists treat people dealing with the aftermath of earthquakes, fires, floods and other events involving extreme loss, destruction and severe changes in stability and lifestyle. These professionals usually arrive at the scene of the catastrophe and offer long-term or short-term follow-up to victims trying to restore their lives. Addiction psychiatrists also deal with restoring lives, treating people suffering from drug use, alcoholism and eating disorders such as bulimia, severe emotional overeating or anorexia.
Of the other types of psychiatrists, geriatrics treat elderly patients, while gay/lesbian psychiatrists treat psychological issues that arise in homosexual people. Often the latter also deals with psychological issues connected with being transgender or transsexual. Geriatric psychiatrists often treat people with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Additionally, they may treat seniors who are suffering from loss, isolation, or depression.
A relatively new specialty, HIV psychiatrists did not exist until the 1990s. Instead, people dealing with the human immunodeficiency virus had to choose between other types of psychiatrists. Now, these patients and their families can receive psychological treatment from doctors who have studied and researched how living with the virus or the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) affects self-esteem, motivation and quality of life.
Founded in the late 1980s, sports psychiatry is another new field that has emerged. Sports psychiatrists help athletes improve their athletic skills, maintain mental balance, deal with aggression and recover from mental illness. These doctors interact with players during their sporting careers and beyond.
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