psychiatry
n. the medical specialty concerned with the study, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental, behavioral, and personality disorders. As a medical specialty, psychiatry is based on the premise that biological causes are at the root of mental and emotional problems, although some psychiatrists do not adhere exclusively to the biological model and additionally treat problems as social and behavioral ills. Training for psychiatry includes the study of psychopathology, biochemistry, genetics, psychopharmacology, neurology, neuropathology, psychology, psychoanalysis, social science, and community mental health, as well as the many theories and approaches advanced in the field itself. —psychiatric
adj.