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Stressful, modern-day lifestyles have pushed up the demand for psychiatrists, writes Usha Albuquerque

The increasing amount of mental tensions and stress in the modern lifestyles has expanded the demand for psychiatrists. More and more people are ready to acknowledge the fact that there are professionals that can help them handle their mental and emotional problems. The stigma associated with visiting a psychiatrist is gradually diminishing and the dignity attached to this medical profession is being sufficiently restored.

Psychiatry is often confused with psychology, particularly among young people looking for a career in this field. Psychiatry, unlike psychology, is a medical career which enables professionals to handle mental and psychosomatic problems, and behavioural disorders through medication and surgery, if necessary.

Work profile

Psychiatry, as a profession, can be applied to various kinds of problems. This includes the mentally retarded, those with various kinds of fears and phobias, mental and emotional problems, persons with drug addiction and alcoholic problems, as well as psychological problems arising out of various physical, mental and medical disabilities.

The work of psychiatrists involves the diagnoses of the patient's problems, that is followed by treatment which could take the form of medication, counselling, psychotherapy, or treatment requiring electrotherapy, hypnosis or other therapies depending on the severity of the problems. Psychiatrists offer advice and counselling to patients suffering from various fears, anxieties, phobias and obsessions.

Role and responsibilities

They also help in the treatment of conditions of extreme anxiety and acute panic. They prescribe medicines for their treatment, which include a large number of anti-depressant and other medicines. Often, psychiatrists conduct counselling sessions, not only with the patients, but also with their families. Highly depressed, or suicidal patients are treated by means of Electric Convulsive Therapy, or ECT, and through tranquilisers, when counselling and psychotherapy does not work.

Psychiatrists often work in institutions and industries for the rehabilitation of the mentally ill. For this, they often work in collaboration with occupational therapists and social workers. Together, they ensure the acceptance of the patients in those organisations where they had been working prior to their illness, or they help the patients in finding alternative methods of employment.

Psychiatrists are often required to work in the courts and prisons, where they deal with persons exhibiting criminal behaviour, those with marital problems or fighting for divorce and other such matters which require their professional opinions.

Psychiatrists can also specialise in the problems of children. They deal with juvenille delinquents and also work in Childrens' Rehabilitation Centres. Moreover, they also help in the treatment of children suffering from specific fears, anxieties and phobias.

Eligibility

Doctors who have successfully completed the M.B.B.S. programme, can apply for the three-year PG degree (M.D), or two-year diploma courses in psychiatry (DPM). The National Board of Examination conducts the Diploma Of National Board Exam (D.N.B.) which is considered equivalent to an M.D.

Most medical colleges offer specialisation in psychiatry, and practical training is provided to the students in mental hospitals. Child psychiatry, community psychiatry, social psychiatry, forensic psychiatry and preventive psychiatry also form a part of the academic curriculum.

Training talk

Prominent among the institutions offering specialisation in psychiatry are the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) in Bangalore, and the Central Institute of Psychiatry (Ranchi) which offer an MD and a diploma course in psychiatry.

The Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences, Delhi, has emerged as an important institution for the study of psychiatry, offering research and training in areas such as child and adolescent mental health, and community mental health..Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi, AIIMS, and the Maulana Azad Medical College in New Delhi also offer M.D and diploma courses in psychiatry.

Similar courses are also offered at the PGI in Chandigarh, Medical College in Madras, and the Christian Medical College in Vellore (Tamil Nadu).

Placement prospects

Psychiatrists can work in regular hospitals, most of which have a department for psychiatry cases, as well as in Mental Hospitals. They can also work in government medical hospitals, and mental hospitals, or with drug de-addiction centres, as counsellors, and in other rehabilitation centres, dealing with drug addiction, alcoholism, and other mental problems. Many private nursing homes and polyclinics, also employ psychiatrists, to attend to their patients.

With some years of practise psychiatrists can also set up their own private clinics. Moreover, they can also work as counsellors in large-scale industries and in drug de-addiction centres. Psychiatrists can also opt for teaching in medical colleges and psychiatric institutions. Research is another option, where studies are being conducted on a variety of human psychological conditions and the usefulness of the various treatment methods.

With increasing awareness, psychiatrists are also called upon as counsellors, in various institutions, including schools, colleges, and Health centres.

A number of large-scale industries employ psychiatrists for conducting counselling and therapy sessions for workers, and to deal with their problems, including those of mental health, absenteeism, drug addiction and alcoholism.

Skill set

It isn’t easy being a psychiatrist as you require to have immense patience, perseverance and a genuine interest in and understanding of human behaviour. Treatments of patients can take time, and lead to a lot of frustration. Therefore, you must also yourself be emotionally stable with a genuine concern and sympathy towards the patients, yet at the same time, having an objective approach towards their problems.

As a medical specialisation, psychiatry is gradually gaining a lot of importance. Every day we hear of road rage, suicides and marital problems which require psychiatric attention. With the increasing tensions of modern day living, particularly in the urban centres in India, the need for psychiatrists is rapidly increasing. Prevention and control of psychiatric problems and the management of mental diseases has opened up huge opportunities for anyone with a desire to get into the medical field, and work in the area of mental and emotional behaviour.

The writer is a noted career expert