Who is a psychiatrist? What services do psychiatrists offer?

Why does anyone need a psychiatrist?

Before going into what psychiatrists do, first it is important to know what a psychiatrist is!
A psychiatrist is a medical doctor, just like a pediatrician or a surgeon. it is a 3 year postgraduation course after MBBS, and is tought in hundreds of medical colleges and hospitals across India, including one medical college in Kolhapur.

Psychiatrists are mental health professionals. They deal with mental illnesses like schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder, OCD, dementia and sleep problems. They also handle mental health issues and problems which not amount to an illness, but still require some intervention, such as workplace stress, relationship conflicts, job burnout, stress management and, career counselling.

Psychiatrists in the first consultation, talk to the client and understand his or her complaints. Then by clinical examination, they try to rule out certain medical illnesses like anaemia, hypothyroidism and some brain disorders like epilepsy and stroke which may present with psychiatric complaints. They then may advise some investigations to confirm their diagnosis.

After diagnosis, psychiatrists plan treatments for the diagnosed illness. For eg, depression treatment involves, educating the patient and caregivers about the illness, advising medications such as antidepressants and counselling as per need. Psychiatrists also can refer the client for specialised therapy like CBT or REBT to specialist in that field.

When should I suspect I need a psychiatrist?
Psychiatric illnesses are disorders of thoughts, memory, speech, emotions, language and other higher cognitive functions. If you feel that you experience any of the following constantly, you may consider visiting a psychiatrist for advise or help:
1) Persistent sadness of mood or constant dissatisfaction with everything around you.
2) Rapidly changing moods. 
 3) Difficulty in concentration or work. 
4) Irritability and frequent temper outbursts. 
5) Forgetfulness, difficulty to apply a logical chain of thought. 
6) Suspiciousness or frequent fights. 
7) Non-clinical issues, like relationship problems, aptitude, work-life balance issues etc.