Each client is unique. Many psychological and emotional difficulties can be resolved with psychotherapy. However, there is research indicating that for some conditions, a combination of psychotherapy and psychiatric medication may be the most effective treatment. Your psychiatrist will help you make the best choice for your unique circumstance. Each client is unique. Many psychological and emotional difficulties can be resolved with psychotherapy. However, there is research indicating that for some conditions, a combination of psychotherapy and psychiatric medication may be the most effective treatment. Your psychiatrist will help you make the best choice for your unique circumstance.

There are many kinds of therapies like brief dynamic therapy, cognitive behaviour therapy, marital therapy etc. All therapies are good when used by trained therapists. Remember for therapies to work the patient must be willing to work through the process and follow the instructions given by the therapist.

A psychiatrist treats various psychological problems like anxiety disorders, depression, phobias, panic disorders, anger issues, alcohol and tobacco dependence, academic issues and various other issues. In fact majority of the problems treated by psychiatrists the patient is in complete control of himself/herself and are holding successful and responsible jobs. The common stereotypical psychiatry patient depicted in movies and in the media form only a very minute percentage of patients seen by psychiatrists. You can consult a psychiatrist for even minor issues which might be troubling you and get suitable advice.

Psychiatrists are the only mental health professionals who can prescribe medications for psychological problems. Not all medications given are life long, in fact majority of the patient treated for psychiatry problems get off their medications in due course of time or are off medications when they are fine. Some patients may have to take medications for considerable period of time and even lifelong, but they form a smaller portion of the patients seen by psychiatrists. Remember that many physical illnesses too need medication for lifelong like diabetes, hypertension. This is the same with psychiatrist illness. Remember many patients can get an episode of a psychological illness and never get it again if treated promptly and correctly, it just very difficult to predict who would never get it again. It is important to note that the quality of life for the patient and family members is much better when the psychological illness is treated rather than endured.

This is a common problem a lot of carers face. They are aware that the patient has a psychological problem but is refusing help. There is no way to address the issue and multiple approaches can be used. Some of the ways are A) Get the patient to a doctor in context of the problem and defocus from the patient’s problem e.g.: marital problem with one partner not seeing his part in the issue get the patient in context of the willing spouse. B) Get a person who has some influence on the patient to speak to the patient C) Tell patient to consider one appointment with the psychiatrist and then give him the option to decide if he wants to go again or not. D) Focus on the issue the patient is willing to work and not on the issues he does not want to E.g.: he might want to consult for his anger issues and not on his sexual problems. E) Patient feeling he has no problem, itself can be a symptom of the illness (no insight) so do not spend time trying to convince the patient he has an illness F) If all methods fail and the patient are seriously ill you can seek help from the Indian mental health act where a patient can be admitted against his will to the hospital. Always use the least restrictive method first. Remember there is no one method to seek help but always focus on how to get the patient to the doctor and not on the problems you will face in the process. If you feel another method will work you can always try but consider safety of the patient, yourself, and the family. G) Reasons for hospitalization? Majority of the patients suffering from psychiatry problems can be treated on an outpatient basis if they have good family support. However, there are times when hospitalization is warranted. They are 1. If patient is suicidal and has active plans to do so 2. If patient has thoughts to harm others and has been violent 3. The symptoms of the illness are such that it is difficult to contain the patient at home and he is wandering from place to place. 4. He continues in the same harmful behaviour e.g.: taking alcohol and drugs despite having received treatment.

In India psychological problems are treated by the following mental health professional, i.e. Psychiatrist, psychologists, psychiatry social workers and counsellors.  A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who has done his MBBS training and then specialized in treating people with mental health problem. Psychiatrists are uniquely qualified to assess both mental and physical aspects of psychological disturbances. Their medical education has given them a full working knowledge of both physical illness and psychological problems. They can treat patients with both medications and psychotherapy (talk therapy). They are able to interpret blood tests and other investigations done by medical doctors.  A psychologist is a mental health professional who has done their graduation in psychology and specialization in clinical psychology (MPhil). They are not medical doctors and usually do their graduation (BA) in psychology. They are able to provide various therapies and they are trained to do certain testing like Rorschach, IQ etc. They are not able to prescribe medications and treat physical illnesses. A psychiatry social worker is a mental health professional who has done her graduation and then specialized in the field of psychiatry social work (MPhil). They can provide certain kind of talk therapies. They cannot prescribe medications or treat physical illnesses. Counsellors are mental health professionals coming from various backgrounds and usually they do 6 months or more, courses in understanding psychological problems and they provide basic talk therapies depending on their training. They cannot prescribe medications. It is to be noted that in India doctors from other specialties prescribe medications for certain psychiatry problem, at times.