Psychiatry is a medical specialty that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of mental (psychological) illnesses. Experts in psychiatry define mental disorders as pathological impairments of behavior, perception, thinking and/or feeling.
The following disorders can also be present in mental illnesses:
- Processing of what has been experienced or
- Relationships with people in the environment (social relationships)
Specialists in psychiatry have completed further training to become specialists in psychiatry and psychotherapy and are called psychiatrists.
A few years ago, doctors still had the option of becoming a specialist in neurology (neurologist). Since 2003, only the specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy has been included in the training regulations of the German Medical Association.
Further training to become a specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy takes five years. Of this, the trainee psychiatrist spends 24 months in inpatient psychiatric and psychotherapeutic patient care (clinic for psychiatry and psychotherapy). A further 12 months in neurology.
Depending on the specialization, the prospective psychiatry specialist may have further experience in the following areas:
Doctors who specialize in the treatment of children qualify as specialists in child and adolescent psychiatry and psychotherapy.
The psychiatrist or specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy takes the following aspects into account when diagnosing and treating mental disorders:
- Somatic aspects
- Psychosomatic aspects
- Social aspects
Specialists in psychiatry (& psychotherapeutic medicine) deal with anxiety, depression, burnout, psychosomatic complaints, compulsions and much more. @ okrasiuk /AdobeStock
The list of mental illnesses that a specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy treats is long.
These include, for example, the following disorders and illnesses:
- Alcohol dependence (alcohol use disorder) and other harmful addictive behavior
- Anxiety disorder: generalized anxiety or fear of certain objects or situations
- Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by impulsivity and instability with regard to interpersonal relationships and self-image
- Eating disorders: Bulimia (binge eating disorder), anorexia, binge eating disorder (eating binges) and binge eating disorder
- Burnout syndrome: state of emotional exhaustion
- Chronic headaches
- Depression manifests itself through negative moods and loss of joy, drive, etc.
- Psychotraumatology deals with the psychological consequences of trauma, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, which is preceded by severe stressful events
- Psychosis is a severe disorder with a loss of connection to reality. This includes schizophrenia, which can manifest itself through disturbances in perception and thinking (such as delusions)
- Somatoform disorders are disorders that cannot be explained by an organic cause, such as somatoform pain disorder
- Stress-related illnesses
- Suicidal behavior
- In obsessive-compulsive disorders (formerly obsessive-compulsive disorder, obsessive-compulsive neurosis, anankastic neurosis), the patient has an urge to do or think something
Psychiatry deals with themedical treatment of alcohol addiction @ Pormezz /AdobeStock
Treatment for a mental disorder is provided by a registered specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy. Or in a clinic for psychiatry and psychotherapy.
There is no single therapy for the treatment of mental illnesses. There may be scientific recommendations for certain types of therapy.
The decision as to which therapy is best suited to which patient depends on the situation.
In addition to drug therapy, the following techniques are used:
An essential component of talk therapy, also known as conversational psychotherapy, client-centered or person-centered psychotherapy, is the conversation. Talk therapy is used for many mental disorders, either alone or in combination with other methods.
In talk therapy, the patient should recognize and resolve situations and circumstances that block self-actualization.
They can work through traumatic experiences and thus gain new insights. This enables them to re-evaluate what they have experienced.
Behavioral therapy is based on scientific findings, with learning theory playing a particularly important role. Behavioral therapy uses certain techniques to try to influence behavioral and psychological disorders. These behavioral therapy techniques are called counter-conditioning/confrontation, operant conditioning and the cognitive approach.
As part of art therapy, patients learn to express their inner state in the form of paintings, photographs or sculptures. They also learn to perceive their environment and their feelings through their senses.
Art therapy is one of the psychodynamic forms of therapy @ nagaets /AdobeStock
Sports therapy is about improving body awareness and overcoming psychological impairments.
In light therapy, patients are exposed to artificial light at certain times. It is mainly used in psychiatry to treat depression.
