A psychiatrist's primary duty is to treat patients with mental disorders. Patients with these conditions have problems with their thoughts, emotions, or behavior (conditions ranging from depression to schizophrenia to delirium to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). It is common for psychiatrists to use a combination of physical treatment (medicines), psychological treatment (therapy), and social treatment in their treatment plans.
Psychiatrists may be classified as follows:
Addiction Psychiatrists: They provide treatment for patients suffering from addiction to substances or behaviors (such as gambling or alcoholism).
Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists: These doctors treat young people and their mental health conditions (ADHD, Autism, and Childhood Anxiety).
Geriatric Psychiatrists (or Psychogeriatricians): These doctors treat the elderly (such as issues related to hoarding, dementia, grief, and loss).
Forensic Psychiatrists: These professionals assess and treat prisoners and people accused of crimes, and they advise courts about how mental illness can affect criminal behavior.
Psychosomatic Medicine is a branch of psychiatry that deals with the relationships between physical and mental illness (such as in Delirium).
