Psychiatry

Psychiatry is a field of medicine dealing with the study and treatment of mental health disorders. The term is derived from the Greek words psyche and iatros meaning the soul or mind and healer, respectively, thus psychiatry is the medical treatment of the mind. A doctor who treats psychiatric disorders is called a psychiatrist.

Psychiatric disorders are abnormal perceptions that affect the way a person thinks and behaves. It may be diagnosed through standard or specific criteria .Some of the common disorders are schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and post traumatic stress disorder. Schizophrenia is where a patient experiences hallucinations and delusional thinking that often leads to unpredictable behavior.

The psychiatric disorder bipolar disorder alternates between manic and depressive moods. A manic moment may bring the patient at very high energy levels then shifts suddenly to being depressive wherein the patient withdraws from people and activities they oftentimes enjoy. Psychiatry must not be confused with psychology although these two are oftentimes overlapping with each other. They are both considered to be mental health professionals dealing with the mind and behavior. Psychiatrists are medical doctors who monitor the effect of the patient’s mental condition to his physical condition and they are licensed to prescribed medications for the treatment. While psychiatry deals with disorders, management and prevention of mental illnesses, psychology deals with the study of the human behavior. Australasian psychiatry is practiced throughout Australian states and territories.