Psychiatry is the field of medicine focused on understanding and treating mental health disorders and psychological distress. Psychiatrists use the Diagnostic and Statistics Manual, currently in its fifth iteration (hence the name DSM-V) in assessing a patient’s constellation of symptoms and determining if they exhibit a diagnosable disorder. Psychiatrists can also help patients with other conditions, even if they aren’t classified DSM illnesses – including psychological distress from pain, trauma, difficult relationships, or other high-stress situations. While some think that psychiatrists go into the field because they subconsciously want to fix their own problems, or that they’re highly eclectic and strange, this isn’t quite true. As a psychiatrist, you’ll have…
