Psychiatry
 | |
| Focus | Mental health |
|---|---|
| Subdivisions | Neuropsychiatry, biological psychiatry, social psychiatry, interventional psychiatry |
| Significant tests | Mental status examination, psychological, cognitive, personality tests |
| Specialist | Psychiatrist |
| Glossary | Glossary of psychiatry |
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of deleterious mental conditions. These include matters related to cognition, perceptions, mood, emotion, and behavior.
Initial psychiatric assessment begins with taking a case history and conducting a mental status examination. Laboratory tests, physical examinations, and psychological assessments may also be used. On occasion, neuroimaging or neurophysiological studies are performed.