Doctors' Directory

What is the role of a psychiatrist?

Psychiatrists assess your mental and physical symptoms. They make a diagnosis and work with you to develop a management plan for your treatment and recovery. Psychiatrists provide psychological treatment, prescribe medications, including holistic approaches as part of the treatment. As part of their work, a psychiatrist can:

1. Provide urgent care for a sudden mental illness.
2. Help you to manage a long-term mental health condition.
3. Provide advice about lifestyle changes.
4. Work with you individually, or with you and your partner, family or carers.
5. Provide second opinions and advice to other doctors and health professionals.
6. Refer you to other health professionals such as clinical psychologist, physiotherapist, or occupational therapist.

When do you need to see a psychiatrist?

You should always seek professional advice from a psychiatrist if:

1. Problems adjusting after major life changes or stress.
2. Anxiety, worry or fear.
3. Depressed or low mood that doesn’t go away.
4. Suicidal thinking
5. Thoughts of hurting other people
6. Hurting yourself on purpose
7. Too much energy, being unable to sleep, wind down or relax.
8. Constant negative thoughts
9. Obsessional thinking
10. Feeling on edge or jumpy
11. Feeling like people are after you or want to harm you.
12. Hallucinations (hearing or seeing things that aren’t there)
13. Delusions (fixed beliefs with no basis in reality)
14. Rushing, disjointed thoughts
15. Out of control alcohol or drug use
16. Problem gambling, gaming or other addictive behaviours
17. Problems around body image, eating or dieting.
18. Memory problems
19. Poor concentration and attention, hyperactivity
20. Violence, agitation or emotional outburst
21. Insomnia and other sleep problems
22. Conditions that start in childhood such as autism, intellectual disability and childhood anxiety.