"Psychiatry is the field of medicine dedicated to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of mental illness. The diseases they treat include depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, addiction, delirium and dementia, anxiety, and personality disorders. As physicians who treat the mentally ill, psychiatrists have some of the most rewarding long-term relationships with their patients. This is an interdisciplinary specialty, well-suited for doctors who wish to use the broadest of all skills - psychosocial, scientific, and clinical. Historically, psychotherapy has always formed the core of psychiatry. But with remarkable advances in neuroscience and drug therapy, this field of medicine has shifted to a more biological-based approach" (Freeman, p. 397).

-- Freeman, B. (2004). The Ultimate Guide to Choosing a Medical Specialty. Lange Medical Books/McGraw-Hill: New York.