psychiatry

Branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorder, normally divided into the areas of neurotic conditions, including anxiety, depression, and hysteria, and psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia. Psychiatric treatment consists of drugs, analysis, or electroconvulsive therapy.

In practice there is considerable overlap between psychiatry and clinical psychology, the fundamental difference being that psychiatrists are trained medical doctors (holding an MD degree) and may therefore prescribe drugs, whereas psychologists may hold a doctorate but do not need a medical qualification to practise. See also psychoanalysis.