Psychiatry is a branch of medicine which focuses on diagnosing, treating, and preventing mental, emotional and behavioral disorders. A psychiatrist is a medical doctor. He or she specializes in mental health, which may include substance us disorders, and assessing the mental and physical aspects of psychological problems.

Psychiatric issues range from the sudden, such as panic attacks, or the occasional problems including hallucinations, suicidal thoughts, or when a person may "hear" voices. They also deal with more long-term issues such as depression, sadness, hopelessness, anxiety, or other problems that seem to be unending for a patient or client.

As medical doctors, they can perform a full range of medical laboratory and psychological tests. They combine this information with patient discussions to provide an overall picture of a patient's physical and mental state.

Once a psychiatrist understands the complex relationship between the emotional and other medical illnesses and relationships with genetics and history of the family, they can better help a patient. They evaluate medical and psychological data, make a diagnosis, and develop treatment plans for patients.

There are a variety of treatment methods psychiatrists use including psychotherapy (talking to a patient), medications (prescribing drugs), psychosocial interventions (treatment within the community), and other treatments such as electroconvulsive therapy (use of electric currents), which each depend on the needs of a patient.

Psychotherapy is often called talk therapy, and is widely used by psychiatrists. It is coupled with the use of medications for treating patients with a wide variety of mental disorders and emotional difficulties. Psychotherapies help patients change behaviors or thought patterns by exploring pat relationships and experiences, and how they have affected current situations.

Psychoanalysis is an intensive form of psychotherapy which may lead to many individual sessions with a psychiatrist over several years.

Medications prescribed by psychiatrists for mental health issues are similar to doctors prescribing medications for high blood pressure or other physical conditions of the body. The medications a psychiatrist prescribes may correct chemical imbalances in brain chemistry that may be involved in some mental disorders. They will also monitor changes in behavior and the side effects of medications.

Finally, to become a psychiatrist, a person will need to complete medical school, pass a state examination for a license to practice medicine, and complete four years of psychiatry residency. In the first year of the residency they work with patients in a hospital who have a wide range of medical illnesses, and then they may spend about three years as a psychiatrist-in-training. During this time, they learn how to diagnose and treat mental health issues.

Psychiatrists must be certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology to become "boar certified." They must be re-certified every 10 years. Some psychiatrists may also become specialists in child, adolescent, geriatric, forensic, or addiction psychiatry. There are many options for those wishing to become a psychiatrist.

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