What does psychiatry mean?
Psychiatry is the branch of medicine concerned with diagnosing, treating, and preventing mental disorders. In clinical practice, psychiatrists assess symptoms, assess biological and psychological factors, and may prescribe medication, recommend psychotherapy, or use a combination of treatments. The word is formal and carries a distinctly medical meaning: it is not simply a general term for studying the mind, which is the role of psychology, nor does it refer only to talk therapy. Psychiatry can be used broadly when discussing the specialty as a field, or more narrowly when referring to the treatment of a particular mental condition. It is especially associated with conditions such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, and severe personality disorders. The term is also used in areas such as child, forensic, geriatric, and academic psychiatry. Its historical development reflects the gradual establishment of mental illness as a subject for systematic medical investigation and treatment.
nounPsychiatry is the branch of medicine concerned with diagnosing, treating, and preventing mental disorders. It includes the study and clinical management of conditions affecting mood, thought, perception, and behavior.
- The branch of medicine concerned with the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental disorders.
"She specializes in psychiatry, with a particular focus on mood disorders."
"The hospital offers specialized psychiatry services for adolescents and adults."
"Psychiatry has made major advances in understanding and treating depression and bipolar disorder."
The plural is uncommon; the field is usually discussed in the singular as psychiatry.
"Specialist psychiatries have developed distinct methods of care."
Psychiatry treats the mind with the same medical seriousness that cardiology brings to the heart.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does psychiatry come from?
Psychiatry combines the Greek psychē, meaning soul or mind, with iatros, meaning physician or healer, through the related Greek iatreia, associated with healing. The compound refers to the medical treatment of the mind and was developed in the modern medical context. Related English words such as psychological, psychotherapy, psychosis, and psychedelic share the same Greek element psychē, though they have developed different meanings and grammatical functions.
Related word forms
How psychiatry is actually used
Psychiatry is a formal medical term. It may refer broadly to the medical specialty or more specifically to the clinical treatment of mental disorders, and it is commonly used in British and American English.
Easily confused with psychiatry
Psychiatry is a medical specialty focused on diagnosing and treating mental disorders, whereas psychology studies the mind and behavior and may apply findings in nonmedical settings.