POV: date=May 2009

Psychiatry is a medical specialty devoted to the treatment, study and prevention of mental disorders. The term was first coined by the German physician Johann Christian Reil in 1808.

Psychiatric assessment typically involves a mental status examination and the taking of a case history; and psychological tests may be conducted. Physical examinations may be carried out and on occasion neuroimages or other neurophysiological measurements taken. Diagnostic procedures vary. Official criteria are listed in manuals, the most widely available being the ICD from the World Health Organization and the DSM from the American Psychiatric Association.

Psychiatric medication is currently a central option, often in conjunction with one of the many varieties of psychotherapy. In extreme instances, currently less favored techniques such as electroconvulsive therapy may be used. Treatment is available on an inpatient or outpatient basis. With the necessary legal sanction, this may be applied involuntarily. Research and the clinical application of psychiatry are conducted on an interdisciplinary basis involving various sub-specialties and theoretical approaches.

In the West, treatment of emotional and cognitive disfunction may be said to have its origins at least as far back as the 5th century BC. The first hospices for the mentally ill appeared in the Middle Ages. The early 19th century saw the development of psychiatry as a recognized field. Mental health institutions came to utilize more elaborate and, over the course of time, more humane treatment methods. The 19th century saw a huge increase in the number of patients.

The 20th century saw an upsurge of biological understanding of mental disorders, as well as the introduction of more systematic disease classification, and the advent of sophisticated psychiatric medication. An anti-psychiatry movement, hostile to most of the fundamental assumptions and practices of the discipline, emerged in the 1960s. A shift in emphasis in several Western societies led to the dismantling of state psychiatric hospitals in favor of more community-based treatment.

Theory and focus

"Psychiatry, more than any other branch of medicine, forces its practitioners to wrestle with the nature of evidence, the validity of introspection, problems in communication, and other long-standing philosophical issues" (Guze, 1992, p.4).

The term psychiatry (ψυχιατρική), coined by Johann Christian Reil in 1808, comes from the Greek “ψυχή” (soul or mind) and “ιατρός" (healer or doctor). It refers to a field of medicine focused specifically on the mind, aiming to study, prevent, and treat mental disorders in humans.Guze, S.B. (1992). Why Psychiatry Is a Branch of Medicine. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 4. ISBN 978-0-19-507420-8Storrow, H.A. (1969). Outline of Clinical Psychiatry. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, p. 1. ISBN 978-0-39-085075-1Lyness, J.M. (1997). Psychiatric Pearls. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis Company, p. 3. ISBN 978-0-80-360280-9 It has been described as an intermediary between the world from a social context and the world from the perspective of those who are mentally ill.Gask, L. (2004). A Short Introduction to Psychiatry. London: SAGE Publications Ltd., p. 7 ISBN 978-0-7619-7138-2