Since 1908

Updated 3/4/08

A psychiatrist is a physician (M.D. or D.O.) who specializes in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental illnesses and substance use disorders.  Psychiatrists are the only mental health professionals who can prescribe medications and admit to hospitals.

In order to become a psychiatrist, one must graduate from college and then medical school, and go on to complete four years of residency training in the field of psychiatry.

Psychiatrists may undergo additional training to further specialize in such areas as child and adolescent psychiatry, geriatric psychiatry, forensic (legal) psychiatry, administrative psychiatry, addiction psychiatry, emergency psychiatry, psychiatry in general medical settings (consultation/liaison psychiatry), mental retardation/developmental disability, community psychiatry and public health, military psychiatry and psychiatric research. Some choose additional training in psychoanalysis at special psychoanalytic institutes.

In addition, physicians are required to complete annual continuing medical education requirements.

This extensive medical training enables the psychiatrist to understand the body's functions and the complex relationship between mental/emotional illness and other medical illnesses. The psychiatrist is thus the mental health professional and physician best qualified to distinguish between physical and psychological causes of both mental and physical distress.