Psychiatry has several recognized subspecialties that focus on different patient populations, clinical issues, or intersections with other medical fields. The main psychiatry subspecialties include:
- Adult Psychiatry: Focuses on mental disorders in adults aged 18 to 65, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, and personality disorders.
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry: Deals with developmental, behavioral, emotional, and mental disorders in children and teenagers, such as ADHD, autism, depression, and eating disorders.
- Addiction Psychiatry: Specializes in the treatment of substance use disorders and co-occurring psychiatric conditions.
- Forensic Psychiatry: Focuses on the intersection of mental health and the law in both civil and criminal cases.
- Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry (Psychosomatic Medicine): Focuses on psychiatric care for medically ill patients, addressing psychiatric symptoms related to medical conditions.
- Geriatric Psychiatry: Concentrates on mental health disorders in elderly patients, including dementia and late-life depression.
- Neuropsychiatry: Bridges psychiatry and neurology, dealing with brain-behavior relationships. It aims to understand and treat mental health conditions that are related to disorders of, or injuries to, the brain or nervous system, such as dementia, stroke, and cognitive and behavioral changes. Behavioral Neurology is the board certification for this subspecialty when the specialist is a neurologist rather than a psychiatrist.
- Learning Disability Psychiatry: Focuses on the diagnosis, treatment, and support of individuals with learning disabilities and intellectual disabilities. It addresses the unique challenges these individuals may face in accessing and receiving mental health care.
- Social and Community Psychiatry: Emphasizes multidisciplinary approaches to help patients remain in their communities.
These subspecialties, often requiring additional training beyond general psychiatry residency, enable psychiatrists to tailor their expertise to specific patient needs.
