Psychiatry & Psychiatrists

While any medical doctor may prescribe psychiatric medications, only psychiatrists have had specialized training to do so. An internist, family doctor, or pediatrician will often treat the more common mental symptoms and disorders. The more complicated a behavior problem, mental symptom, or mental illness is or becomes, the more likely that a specialist should be consulted.

Psychiatry also includes many different areas of additional training called subspecialties: child & adolescent, addiction, geriatric, and forensic. If addictions are the issue, you may want to see someone with additional special training in addictions. If your child or adolescent has behavior problems or mental struggles, you might want to see a child and adolescent psychiatrist. Likewise, if you are 65 years old or older, you will want to see a geriatric psychiatrist.