A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are medical doctors and evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly mental issues. A psychiatrist usually works within a multi-disciplinary team, which may comprise clinical psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists, and nursing staff. Psychiatrists have broad training in a bio-psycho-social approach to assessment and management of mental illness.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that can develop after exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, or other threats on a person's life. Symptoms may include disturbing thoughts, feelings, or dreams related to the events, mental or physical distress to trauma-related cues, attempts to avoid trauma-related cues, alterations in the way a person thinks and feels, and an increase in the fight-or-flight response. These symptoms last for more than a month after the event. Young children are less likely to show distress, but instead may express their memories through play. A person with PTSD is at a higher risk of suicide and intentional self-harm.
Abnormal psychology is the branch of psychology that studies unusual patterns of behavior, emotion and thought, which could possibly be understood as a mental disorder. Although many behaviors could be considered as abnormal, this branch of psychology typically deals with behavior in a clinical context. There is a long history of attempts to understand and control behavior deemed to be aberrant or deviant, and there is often cultural variation in the approach taken. The field of abnormal psychology identifies multiple causes for different conditions, employing diverse theories from the general field of psychology and elsewhere, and much still hinges on what exactly is meant by "abnormal". There has traditionally been a divide between psychological and biological explanations, reflecting a philosophical dualism in regard to the mind-body problem. There have also been different approaches in trying to classify mental disorders. Abnormal includes three different categories; they are subnormal, supernormal and paranormal.
Mental health, defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), is "a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community". According to WHO, mental health includes "subjective well-being, perceived self-efficacy, autonomy, competence, intergenerational dependence, and self-actualization of one's intellectual and emotional potential, among others". From the perspectives of positive psychology or of holism, mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and to create a balance between life activities and efforts to achieve psychological resilience. Cultural differences, subjective assessments, and competing professional theories all affect how one defines "mental health".
The Institute of Mental Health, formerly known as Woodbridge Hospital, is a psychiatric hospital in Singapore. It is located on a 25-hectare campus at Buangkok Green Medical Park in the north-east of Singapore.
Psychiatric nursing or mental health nursing is the appointed position of a nurse that specialises in mental health, and cares for people of all ages experiencing mental illnesses or distress. These include: schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, personality disorders, eating disorders, suicidal thoughts, psychosis, paranoia, and self-harm.
Emergency psychiatry is the clinical application of psychiatry in emergency settings. Conditions requiring psychiatric interventions may include attempted suicide, substance abuse, depression, psychosis, violence or other rapid changes in behavior. Psychiatric emergency services are rendered by professionals in the fields of medicine, nursing, psychology and social work. The demand for emergency psychiatric services has rapidly increased throughout the world since the 1960s, especially in urban areas. Care for patients in situations involving emergency psychiatry is complex.
Mental health in China is a growing issue. Experts have estimated that about 173 million people living in China are suffering from a mental disorder. The desire to seek treatment is largely hindered by China's strict social norms, as well as religious and cultural beliefs regarding personal reputation and social harmony. While the Chinese government is committed to expanding mental health care services and legislation, the country struggles with a lack of mental health professionals and access to specialists in rural areas.
A mental health professional is a health care practitioner or social and human services provider who offers services for the purpose of improving an individual's mental health or to treat mental disorders. This broad category was developed as a name for community personnel who worked in the new community mental health agencies begun in the 1970s to assist individuals moving from state hospitals, to prevent admissions, and to provide support in homes, jobs, education, and community. These individuals were the forefront brigade to develop the community programs, which today may be referred to by names such as supported housing, psychiatric rehabilitation, supported or transitional employment, sheltered workshops, supported education, daily living skills, affirmative industries, dual diagnosis treatment, individual and family psychoeducation, adult day care, foster care, family services and mental health counseling.
Animal-assisted therapy is an alternative or complementary type of therapy that includes the use of animals in a treatment. It falls under the realm of Animal Assisted Intervention, which encompasses any intervention that includes an animal in a therapeutic context such as emotional support animals, service animals trained to assist with daily activities, and animal assisted activity. Animal-assisted therapy can be classified by the type of animal, the targeted population, and how the animal is incorporated into the therapeutic plan. The most commonly used types of animal-assisted therapy are canine-assisted therapy and equine-assisted therapy. The goal of animal-assisted therapy is to improve a patient's social, emotional, or cognitive functioning and literature reviews state that animals can be useful for educational and motivational effectiveness for participants. Studies have documented the positive effects of the therapy as reported on subjective self-rating scales and on objective physiological measures such as blood pressure and hormone levels.
The Institute of Living is a comprehensive psychiatric facility in Hartford, Connecticut, that offers care across the spectrum of psychiatric services, including:
The Madigan Army Medical Center, located on Joint Base Lewis-McChord just outside Lakewood, Washington, is a key component of the Madigan Healthcare System and one of the largest military hospitals on the West Coast of the United States.
Military psychology is a specialization within psychology that applies psychological science to promote the readiness of military members, organizations, and operations. Military psychologists provide support to the military in many ways, including through direct clinical care, consultation to military commanders, teaching others and supporting military training, and through research relevant to military operations and personnel. The stressors associated with military service are many to include exposure to high-risk training and combat. As such, psychologists are critical support components that assist military leaders in designing appropriate training programs, providing oversight to those programs, and assisting military members as they navigate the challenges of military training and military life in general. Most issues facing military members are not that dissimilar from those faced by their civilian counterparts. Specific examples of the issues faced by military personnel that may be somewhat distinct include posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) associated with combat, or guilt and family/partner difficulties accompanying extended or frequent deployments due to separation. Clinical providers in military psychology are often focused on the treatment of stress, fatigue, and other personal readiness issues.
The Massachusetts General Hospital Psychiatry Academy is an educational organization for psychiatrists, psychologists, other mental health professionals, and other healthcare professionals who diagnose and treat patients with mental health disorders. It is directly organized and managed by the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, which is owned by Partners HealthCare, the largest healthcare provider in Massachusetts.
A psychiatric assessment, or psychological screening, is the process of gathering information about a person within a psychiatric service, with the purpose of making a diagnosis. The assessment is usually the first stage of a treatment process, but psychiatric assessments may also be used for various legal purposes. The assessment includes social and biographical information, direct observations, and data from specific psychological tests. It is typically carried out by a psychiatrist, but it can be a multi-disciplinary process involving nurses, psychologists, occupational therapist, social workers, and licensed professional counselors.
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psychiatry.
Kevin Joseph Michael Gournay CBE FMedSci FRCN FRSM FRCPsych (Hon) PhD RN CSci Cert CBT is a registered psychologist, chartered scientist and a registered nurse by background. He is an emeritus professor at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London. He was a consultant psychologist at the Priory Hospital North London; retiring in December 2018. He has now returned to clinical work as part of the response to COVID19. He is currently an Honorary Professor at the Matilda Centre; University of Sydney., where his work focusses on the combination of mental health problems and substance use. He has been responsible over many years for a very wide range of research, policy and practice development in mental health care. He also works as an Expert Witness; he has provided reports on more than 250 suicides; 20 homicides and hundreds of reports on people who have suffered the consequences of traumatic events, including accidents, terrorist related incidents, natural disasters, war related events and stillbirth and perinatal death. He has also provided numerous reports on patients receiving care and treatment in high secure and Medium secure settings, including Broadmoor, Rampton and Ashworth hospitals
The primary care behavioral health (PCBH) consultation model is a psychological approach to population-based clinical health care that is simultaneously co-located, collaborative, and integrated within the primary care clinic. The goal of PCBH is to improve and promote overall health within the general population. This approach is important because approximately half of all patients in primary care present with psychiatric comorbidities, and 60% of psychiatric illness is treated in primary care.
Exposure to trauma induces an intense amount of stress as a result of an individual directly or indirectly experiencing some type of threat, also referred to as a Potentially Traumatic Experience (PTE). PTEs can include—but are not limited to—sexual violence, physical abuse, unexpected death of a loved one, witnessing another person badly hurt, exposure to natural disaster, being a victim of a serious crime, car accident, combat, interpersonal violence and many other stressful experiences. PTEs can also include learning that a traumatic event occurred to another person or witnessing the traumatic event; an individual does not have to experience the event themselves to develop Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTEs are labeled as such because not everyone who experiences one or more of the events listed will develop PTSD. However, PTSD is estimated to develop in about 4% of individuals who experience some type of traumatic experience. Approximately 8% of adults the United States population will have PTSD at some point in their lives. That means about 8 million U.S. adults have PTSD during a given year, which is only a small portion of individuals who experience traumatic events. Biological stress responses can be adaptive at the time of the traumatic event, but prolonged biological stress responses can lead to impairing symptoms known as PTSD.
Donald Jay Cohen was a psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and director of the Yale Child Study Center and the Sterling Professor of Child Psychiatry, Pediatrics and Psychology at the Yale School of Medicine. According to the New York Times, he was "known for his scientific work, including fundamental contributions to the understanding of autism, Tourette's syndrome and other illnesses, and for his leadership in bringing together the biological and the psychological approaches to understanding psychiatric disorders in childhood"; his work "reshaped the field of child psychiatry". He was also known as an advocate for social policy, and for his work to promote the interests of children exposed to violence and trauma.
