Welcome to the fifth article in the MD Spotlight Series, in which the specialty of psychiatry is highlighted and related resources
are featured. You will gain greater insight into the field of psychiatry and identify new ways to relate and communicate at
a more sophisticated level with this customer type. Use this tool to aid you during business planning, call strategy and physician
interaction.
Now, let's take a closer look at the practice of psychiatry, one of the oldest medical specialties, dating back to the mid-19th
century.
Physician profile
A physician who specializes in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mental illnesses is called a psychiatrist. Psychiatry
is the area of medicine concerned with mental disorders characterized by disturbances in thinking, emotions and behavior.
The primary responsibility of the psychiatrist is to diagnose patients with mental illnesses and then either recommend or
provide appropriate treatment. Mental disorders are highly prevalent, affecting 20% of adults at some time in their lives. A wealth of scientific evidence
demonstrates that mental illness has a biological basis in disturbances in brain functioning, and results from a complex interplay
between physical, hereditary, psychological, social and cultural influences. Mental illnesses occur along a continuum of severity
from relatively widespread problems, such as anxiety, depression, addiction to drugs or alcohol, and eating disorders, to
serious but less common psychological disturbances such as manic-depressive illness and schizophrenia. Despite the high prevalence
of mental illness, only about half of all people who are affected actually seek professional help.
More in the series
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Psychiatrists are uniquely qualified among physicians to evaluate both the mental and physical aspects of psychological disturbances.
By virtue of their specialized education and training, psychiatrists take an integrated approach to the treatment of mental
illness, taking into consideration the intimate relationship between emotional and physical illnesses.
