Overview
Psychiatrists are physicians who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses. The stereotype of the "bearded analyst" sitting by the couch is obsolete. While psychoanalysis is still practiced, most psychiatrists today provide a wide range of biological, psychotherapeutic, and psychosocial treatments tailored to the specific needs of the patient. Psychiatrists also serve as the medical experts for the mind/brain/body interface.
Like other medical conditions, mental illnesses can range from relatively mild and self-limiting conditions to severe and life-threatening disorders. Recent research by the National Institute of Mental Health indicates that 26% of the adult population in the U.S. suffers from some diagnosable mental disorder in any given year. Nearly 6% of all Americans suffer from severe mental illness (i.e., schizophrenia or bipolar disorder).
Psychiatry is one of the oldest medical specialties. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is over 150 years old. Psychiatry is also one of the frontiers of medicine, as researchers constantly make new discoveries about the brain. Recent advances in the neurosciences have led to significant new technologies in the diagnosis and treatment of many mental illnesses. Among other innovations, brain imaging and new pharmaceuticals have led to mental illness treatments that are just as effective as treatments in other medical specialties.
The prospects for finding a good job in this field are excellent for the foreseeable future. There is still a great need for psychiatrists in all aspects of the public, as well as in the private care sector. Psychiatry was designated as a shortage specialty and a priority specialty in a recent report by the Graduate Medical Education National Advisory Committee. Subspecialists such as child psychiatrists and geriatric psychiatrists are in even greater demand.
You can download, save and print a PDF of this career profile:
Psychiatrist 14 May 2008 [pdf, 164 KB]
|
Salary:
$150,000
-
$300,000
[*]
Years in school:
13
-
14
after high school graduation
Job outlook:
Excellent
|