On Psychiatry: Is it Effective?
It is common to not completely understand the difference between psychiatry and psychology. To clear up the confusion, psychology is the study of the functions of the human brain, while psychiatry is the study and diagnosis of mental disorders. Mental disorders are “a clinically significant behavioral or psychological syndrome or pattern that occurs in an individual and that is associated with present distress or disability or with a significantly increased risk of suffering death, pain, disability, or an important loss of freedom” (The New Definition of a Mental Disorder). With this knowledge given and the stereotypes that is often prevailed, (Some examples of said stereotypes are that a psychiatrist would
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Not in the slightest.
Psychiatry, at its early stage, was considered a “soft-science”, since the diagnosing of patients was based on inferring, observation, and the doctors’ assumptions. Now, due to the development and improvement of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning to the brain, statistics, and strict and rigorous criteria of diagnosing patients, the study of psychiatry has been dubbed a “hard-science” (Psychiatry).
An example of an MRI (magnetic resonance image) to a patient’s brain.
There are many tests and procedures a psychiatrist has to follow to diagnose someone with a mental illness, such as when a doctor wants to test someone for schizophrenia. To be diagnosed with this mental disorder, the symptoms must match the ones stated in the DSM, or the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. These symptoms include extremely disorganized speech or conduct, the lack of ability to act or function normally, having hallucinations, demonstrating delusional demeanor, and/or dazed/coma-like or extreme hyperactive behavior, which is also called catatonic behavior (Schizophrenia). To test someone for this illness, the patient will have to go through lab tests, such as complete blood count (CBC), other blood tests, alcohol and drug screenings, and sometimes the psychiatrist calls for an MRI or CT (also known as a CAT) scan. All this taken into account, it is
Social pressures change as time passes, therefore it is interesting to see how these three texts whom differ by almost four hundred years perceive society and the effect this has on the protagonists; Shakespeare’s King Lear which was first performed in 1606 during the Jacobean era, presents a patriarchal society. Whilst, Arthur Miller uses the characters in ‘Death of a salesman’ to show the failure of the ‘American dream’ during the “golden era” of America in the late 40’s. The ‘American Dream’ was a set of ideals which suggested that anyone in the US could be successful through hard work, and had the potential to live a happy life. The sense of the deterioration in the equality of opportunities links to the fall in power and hierarchy in
Diagnosis involves absolutely no prior scientific examination. Psychiatric offices place individuals in a small room to undergo analysis, while doctors assess how the individual responds to stillness and silence. The methodical diagnosis of the disorder seems to be unfair because the testing process seems as if it is designed for the individual to fail. The fact that no scientific testing occurs makes the testing completely judgmental and inaccurate.
“Psychiatry.” Issues & Controversies, 08 Aug. 2008. FACTS.com. Facts on File News Services. NEMCC Lib., Booneville, MS. 29 Sept. 2008 <http://www2.nemcc.edu/library/
The diagnostic process for personality disorders currently covers a broad scope of various tests and symptoms, causing a source of frustration for psychiatrists (Aldhous). The symptoms and side effects of several personality disorders can tend to blur together, making diagnosis challenging (Aldhous). Most psychiatric patients are diagnosed with several personality disorders at once, with twenty percent of people with personality disorders simply diagnosed with a “personality disorder not otherwise specified” (Aldhous). Using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders, commonly referred to as the DSM, psychiatrists attempt with great difficulty to categorize their patients into a specific disorder, only to diagnose
A work-up must include a thorough interview of patient with assessment of positive and negative symptoms. There are many rare medical causes that present as psychosis in children (Benjamin et al., 2013). Genetic syndromes, IEM, and autoimmune, neurological, endocrinological and nutritional disorders that can present with psychotic symptoms must also be considered (Giannitelli, 2017). Assessment must include thorough physical examination, lab studies including complete blood count, serum electrolytes and glucose, hepatic and renal function, thyroid stimulating hormone, syphilis test, prolactin levels, hepatitis C, vitamin B12 and folate, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and antinuclear antibodies are recommended. Urinalysis, urine and serum toxicology, and human immunodeficiency virus testing should be done if there are risk factors present (). (Find sep. citation)
Psychiatry is a type of science that involves mental illnesses and diagnosing the patient's’ mental, and sometimes physical, health. Psychiatrists are doctors that are trained to diagnose mental illnesses, and spot mental, emotional and behavioral symptoms. They work with their patients, listening to their stories, and performing tests in order to find out what, if any, mental illnesses or cognitive disorders. The median annual salary for a psychiatrist is around $200,000.
There hope is to diagnosis and treat the illness at hand. This article questions the validity of diagnosing each patient. If the doctors or the nurses’ diagnosis is wrong then, the treatment will also be wrong. This can create complications for all parties at hand. Most often there is protocol that most doctors have to follow when diagnosing a patient “However, it should not be forgotten that they are all using same diagnostic manual, and probability of diagnosing a person is in depression with same instructions.”(). Now this makes a person question whether the validity is of the doctor or the protocol. If it is the protocol than that is something that needs to be evaluated. At the time the DSM system was in use for diagnosing a patient. At the time of this experiment Rosenhan used the DSM-II statistical evaluation. Years later this statistical data was look over, “According to Mattison, Cantwell, Russell, Will (1979) general inter-rater reliability of DSM-II was about %57 and %54 for axis I in DSM-III. In DSM III, which is published twelve years later after first version of DSM II, reliability scores of psychosis, conduct disorder, hyperactivity, and mental retardation was slightly higher than general reliability scores; however, as it is accepted today with the circumstance of logical base, reliability under 0.7-0.8 is found questionable and possibility of error is
Several exams may be included such as a physical exam or psychiatric evaluation. A doctor or mental health professional checks for symptoms by observing appearance and demeanor, and asks about thoughts, moods, delusions, hallucinations, substance use, and potential for violence or suicide. The doctor may request imaging studies, such as an MRI or CT scan. They may also use the criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), published by the American Psychiatric Association. A discussion about family history may also be included in the diagnosis, since schizophrenia is primarily
Yes, a book has helped me think about an issue in my life. Not many books help you, but there was this one book it was ‘Love, Aubrey’ by Suzanne LaFleur; this book made me realize that wherever you go, you'll always have people around you that care about you. At one time I thought that I had no friends but hey, I put that negativity out of my head and I had a lot of friends.
If we reach that far back in psychiatric history it would appear as though mainstream psychiatry has actually come a long way. To gain insight in to all disciplines of study it’s critical to venture back in time to get a glimpse of its history. It’s necessary to study the roots in an effort to accurately extrapolate where things have been, where things are, and where the vision is directed for the future. Advancements in health care have unfolded through trial and error. These progressive improvements in patient care are profoundly swayed by public attitudes and medical theories. Since we have had such difficulty in finding our way out of the stigma mental illness maintains on today’s society, it is not surprising that psychiatry continues to lag behind other fields of medicine in terms of advancements.
Medical technology is one change that has led to advanced treatment of mental illness since the early 1900s. Firstly, “images produced by positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resources imaging (MRI) technology have revealed that a lot of the mental
Psychology can be applied to everyday life in many ways. The three main ways Psychology applies to my life is through motivation and emotion, Stress and health and Psychological therapies. These topics of psychology are the ones that best describe my life. When most people think of psychology they think of therapists and psychological disorders. Psychology is much more than that and applies to everyone’s life in some form.
There are hundreds of different careers in the medical field ranging from neurosurgeons to nurse practitioners. Psychiatry deals specifically with the diagnosis and treatment of mental, behavioral, and emotional ailments. The main purpose of a psychiatrist is to help people coop with issues and stress in their environment that make it difficult to lead a normal and healthy lifestyle. These issues may arise from abuse, addiction, mental disability, disease, or physical injury. It is the psychiatrist’s job to ensure the patient can maintain a healthy attitude and continue to provide for themselves. A Psychiatrist may choose to specialize in many sub classes of mental health including children and adolescents, geriatric psychiatry, addiction,
Authored by Keith E. Stanovich, How to Think Straight About Psychology is a known work of the psychology world which was published in 1986. Beginning courses in psychology use his text frequently. Stanovich primary purpose for writing the text is to bring attention to his observation that the public’s understanding of psychology is different from psychology as a modern science. Psychology as a modern science explains the underlying functions that shape human attitudes and behavior. To the people who misunderstand this, the field of psychology is not a real science, but a pseudo-science instead. How to Think Straight About Psychology describes people’s several false impressions of psychology and it gives its readers a factual understanding of the field as a modern and scientific psychology while explaining how this science works.
The searing, stabbing feeling, vibrating through your skull that renders you completely to where you cannot move, talk, or even eat is what hit me on August 11, 2013. The day and night before my 15th birthday was spent in the ER with a crippling migraine. The feeling of being treated like there was nothing wrong with you, and you were just faking it must be the worst feeling I have ever felt in my life. Chronic migraines affect people differently and can cause so many different problems. This is when it all started, when it got better, and when it began to go downhill all over again.