What is a Psychiatrist?
Psychiatry is the branch of medicine focused on the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mental, emotional and behavioral disorders.
A psychiatrist is a medical doctor (an M.D. or D.O.) who specializes in mental health, including substance use disorders. Meaning I am qualified to assess both the mental and physical aspects of psychological problems.
People seek psychiatric help for many reasons. The problems can be sudden, such as a panic attack, frightening hallucinations, thoughts of suicide, or hearing “voices.” Or they may be more long-term, such as feelings of sadness, hopelessness, or anxiousness that never seem to lift or problems functioning, causing everyday life to feel distorted or out of control.
How do I diagnose patients?
Because I am a physician, I can order or perform a full range of medical laboratory and psychological tests. I understand the complex relationship between emotional and other medical illnesses and the relationships with genetics and family history, to evaluate medical and psychological data, to make a diagnosis, and to work with you and your family to develop a treatment plan.
Specific diagnoses are based on criteria established in APA’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders(DSM-5), which contains descriptions, symptoms and other criteria for diagnosing mental disorders.