The 7 branches of Psychiatry (and what each one studies)

Psychiatry is the branch of medicine dedicated to the study and intervention of mental disorders of genetic or neurological origin. Its objective is to prevent, evaluate, diagnose, treat and rehabilitate people with these types of conditions, in addition to promoting their reintegration into society and long-term well-being. In simpler terms, psychiatrists address a series of behavioral maladjustments related to individual mood, behavior, cognition, and perception.

The figure of the psychiatrist is very important in society, since it is estimated that 1 in 4 people will have a mental disorder throughout their life. When these types of pictures come to mind, we automatically think of depression (with more than 300 million affected) and anxiety (with 260 million), but there are many more. Without going any further, personality disorders (PD) comprise 60% of the cases in the psychiatric consultation.

From schizophrenia to anorexia nervosa, to mild / severe personality disorders, depression, anxiety disorders and many more, the psychiatrist has the task of prescribing the appropriate drugs to the patient, monitoring him over time and ensuring that he receives psychological care adequate. With these ideas in mind,

we present the 7 branches of psychiatry and their most defining features.

• We recommend you read: "The 9 types of psychiatrists (and how each one works)"

What are the main disciplines within Psychiatry?

Psychiatry adopts an eminently medical model to address psychological disorders in the population, that is, it is based on the specific knowledge provided by the investigation of human anatomy to detect the origin of these maladaptive pathological features. Anyway, beyond the neural and systemic physiology, also the psychological, psychosocial and anthropological factors surrounding the patient must be taken into account.

The goal of psychiatry is as ambitious as it is necessary: ​​to connect brain physiology with the sociocultural environment (environment) to explain the different diseases of an emotional nature and put them end. Next, we will tell you all about the 7 branches of psychiatry.

1. Addiction psychiatry

Also known as addictologists, addiction psychiatrists target study the patterns and behaviors that lead to substance abuse and the best strategies to end it. Knowledge of the drug-mediated reward circuit has helped us understand, for example, how short-term and long-term addictions work.

Thanks to these types of studies and approaches, it has been discovered that drugs such as naltrexone are able to bind to the same opioid receptors as heroin and other opiates. Thus, under proper treatment, an addicted patient can inject the drug as she normally would and not feel any kind of positive sensation. Fascinating, right?

2. General psychiatry

General psychiatry is the one that is in charge, in a systematic way, of adult patients with some type of severe mental illness. They address those disorders that have in common the difficulty they cause the individual to adapt normally to various situations and maintain emotional stability. This encompasses different conditions, from psychotic disorders to phobias, through other anxiety-type syndromes, depression and personality disorders (PDs).

3. Psychiatry of the elderly (geriatric psychiatry)

As you can imagine, the clinical entities that affect the elderly are very different from those of the general population. Mental illnesses in the elderly lead to a greater degree of loss of autonomy and, in many cases, premature death. The study and approach of age-related psychological disorders is essential, since we are in a world with an increasingly aging population.

Although mental illness in the elderly is usually associated with senile dementia, it should be noted that 50% of the efforts in this discipline are directed to other areas. We must also remember that more than 14% of the elderly over 65 years of age suffer from depression, due to the social and physical isolation to which they are usually subjected. Psychiatry of the elderly must range from the neurological failures associated with old age to the abnormal social factors that lead to more rapid individual decline.

4. Disability psychiatry

We are entering very steep terrain, since to say that a person with trisomy on chromosome 21 (Down syndrome) or fragile X syndrome is "disabled" is to be wrong. It is not that these individuals are not capable, but that their range of expression and understanding are different from the neurotypical ones. Put more nicely, perhaps the most appropriate thing would be to treat these conditions as one more spectrum within human normality, not a disease.

In any case, there are a series of psychiatric conditions that are usually associated with these conditions, be they pathologies or not by themselves (with a 25-40% more probability of appearance than in the rest of the population). For this reason, disability psychiatry is in charge of explore the possible effects derived from each syndrome and address them, ideally before they appear.

5. Forensic psychiatry

One of the most interesting variants of psychiatry for the general public and with the greatest representation in the general media. The professionals who practice this discipline are in charge of elucidating the criminal responsibility and civil capacity of a accused, in order to know if a crime has been carried out under normal conditions or has happened derived from a disease mental.

Among other things, forensic psychiatrists are responsible for quantify a defendant's ability to stand trial (stand trial). That is, if you are able to understand the charges against you and help your lawyers towards a fair sentence. They are also expert witnesses, capable of observing a crime or crime scene from a knowledge-based and methodical point of view.

6. Child and adolescent psychiatry

Again, the psychiatric problems that affect children and adolescents are very different from those present in the adult population. In the pediatric population, anxiety disorders (AD), attention deficit disorders and hyperactivity (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorders are the most common in the transition from childhood to adolescence.

In addition, according to professional sources, it is estimated that 75% of disorders developed during adult life have their onset in childhood. In other words, the objective is not only to treat the problems already present in children, but to prevent the most vulnerable from developing conditions in the future due to traumatic events and other events.

7. Drug psychiatry (psychopharmacology)

All psychiatric therapy is based on two fronts: pharmacological and psychological. Both are equally important, as medications such as antidepressants SSRIs, antipsychotics, benzodiazepines (sporadic use) and others are essential to alleviate the most serious symptoms of a specific psychological pathology.

In order for these drugs to be used by the general population, it is necessary to carry out a series of studies and previous investigations. Psychopharmacology places particular emphasis on the role of neurotransmitters and neuronal receptors, since in these are the potential responses to many pathological substrates.

Resume

We have presented you with a multidisciplinary vision of psychiatry (the most disparate representatives), but you must be clear that there are many more aspects. We have neglected biological psychiatry, psychopathology, psychosomatic medicine, sexology or neuropsychiatry. Although we cannot cover all these areas, it is enough to know that they are interrelated and that the final objective is common: know, apply and solve the underlying mechanisms that lead to behavioral maladjustments.

Psychiatry has a medical approach, but in addition to the neurological and developmental bases, society, the environment and the individual experiences of each patient must be taken into account. Without a doubt, one of the most interesting special medical disciplines that can be chosen, in any of its variants.