The 8 Types of Psychiatry (and what mental illnesses they treat)

These are the different branches of psychiatry, a field of medicine associated with mental health.

The human being is a tremendously complex organism, made up of multiple body systems. And this great complexity can be altered by a large number of diseases. Fortunately, when this happens we have medical and health services to help us. But what happens when we talk about imbalances in brain biochemistry or mental problems?

In these cases we have different professionals such as psychologists or psychiatrists. Regarding the latter, we can find a great variety of subtypes, depending on which aspects they specialize in. In this article we are going to talk about the types of psychiatry.and some of the best known sub-disciplines are mentioned.

What is Psychiatry?

It receives the name of psychiatry the branch of the medicine that has as object of study the human mind and the mental upheavalsfrom a generally medical-biological perspective.

The psychiatrist's main function is to evaluate, diagnose and treat the presence of different psychiatric disorders in order to generate a recovery of the subject and an improvement in their quality of life. As physicians, they have the power to prescribe and prescribe psychotropic drugs. The treatment they offer is generally pharmacological or medical.However, they must take into account the psychological factors that mediate the experience of the disorder.

In addition, they often have to deal not only with the patient but also with his or her family members.It is a specialization within a medical career, not being a university career in itself.

It is a specialization within the medical career, not being a university career by itself. To become a psychiatrist, it is necessary to first complete the medical degree and then take the MIR and choose that specialty, after which the student must spend four years as a resident physician in psychiatry.

Types of Psychiatry according to their specialization

Psychiatry is a branch of medicine of great interest and usefulness to the public, seeking to treat the various mental disorders and problems that may arise. However, not all psychiatrists work with the same type of patients, there is a great diversity of specializations. In this sense we can find, among others, the following types of psychiatry.

1. Adult psychiatry

General psychiatry is the one that usually deals, as a general rule, with adults who present some kind of severe mental pathology. Mood disorders such as depression or bipolar disorder, anxiety problems and phobias and psychotic disorders are usually the main reason for consultation.

2. Child and adolescent psychiatry

Probably the type of population most often consulted due to concern for their wellbeing is children and young people. This is a particularly delicate and fragile type of population, with differential characteristics that require more delicate treatment. It is also one of the types of psychiatry in which they are will always require contact with parents or legal guardians, as well as with school institutions.as well as with school institutions.

There are many problems that specialists in this type of psychiatry can treat, highlighting the presence of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism or ADHD. In addition, cases of childhood depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, obsessive-compulsive disorder or psychotic problems, such as incipient psychosis, are also observed and treated.

3. Geriatric Psychiatry

Old age is a time of great changes in people's lives. Retirement, aging and diminishing capacities, illnesses and deaths of loved ones are more frequent in this vital stage. It is a stage with its own particularities, being the elderly generally delicate and fragile, and may require a psychiatric service in people in which disorders appear at that age or in order to treat the evolution of a disorder upon reaching this age.

Professionals specializing in geriatric psychiatry often treat elderly people with severe mental usually treat elderly people with severe mental disorders and the cognitive and behavioral alterations of dementia. and behavioral disturbances associated with dementia.

2. Forensic psychiatry

This type of psychiatry is responsible for intervening in the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of subjects with mental disorders and problems with the law. It is characterized by being in charge (together with forensic psychology) of the assessment of cognitive capacities in order to assessing the degree of imputability and criminal responsibility of individuals, as well as evaluating their progressIt also evaluates their progress and contributes to the treatment of possible psychiatric problems.

3. Sexology

Sexual dysfunctions and paraphilias can also be treated by sexology, which often makes use of psychiatrists, psychiatrists and psychiatrists. often makes use of psychiatrists or psychologists.. Problems such as erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, anorgasmia, hypoactive sexual desire, aversion to sex, sex addiction or dyspareunia are some examples of the type of problems treatable from this discipline.

4. Psychiatry of eating disorders

Another type of psychiatry that requires great specialization is the one related to eating disorders, being this type of mental disorder one of the few that by itself can lead to the death of the sufferer. This type of population requires a comprehensive and differentiated treatment, especially in severe cases. Anorexia and bulimia are the two most prevalent disorders..

5. Psychiatry of addictions

Substance addiction is one of the most frequent problems that can be observed in the population, and requires preparation and specific knowledge about what addiction, abstinence or the different ways to treat them entails. In this sense, addiction to alcohol, cocaine, heroin or cannabis are some of the most common pathologies in the some of the most common pathologies in this type of psychiatry..

However, it must be taken into account that there are also addictions not linked to substances. Compulsive shopping, compulsive gambling or addiction to new technologies are also examples of disorders that can be treated by this type of service.

6. Neuropsychiatry

Neuropsychiatry is a discipline that works on the presence of psychiatric disorders in the context of problems related to the nervous system. This discipline usually has a better knowledge of the functioning of the nervous system. It usually deals with strokes, patients with cognitive impairment resulting from a mental disorder or substance abuse or dementia, among others.

7. Liaison or Interconsultation Psychiatry

This type of psychiatry is characterized by serving as a liaison between psychiatric and medical psychiatric and medical aspects that involve the suffering of a disease.. Issues such as the experience of a chronic or terminal illness, adherence to treatment or the treatment of stress, anxiety or depression that may arise from it are specific to this type of psychiatrists.

8. Emergency psychiatry

This is a type of psychiatry that, although it does exist in Spain, is not recognized as a specialty in other countries. This is the psychiatrist who attends emergency situations, such as the emergence of a psychotic break, depression with planned suicidal ideation, or drug use emergencies.

Bibliographic references:

• Lieberman, J. A., Ogas, O. (2015): Shrinks: The untold story of Psychiatry. New York: Back Bay Books.
• Semple, D. (2005): Oxford Handbook of Psychiatry. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Sadock, B. J., Ahmad, S., and Sadock, V. A. (2018): Kaplan & Sadock's Pocket Handbook of Clinical Psychiatry. Riverwoods (Illinois): Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.