In its on-going attempts to define, understand, and categorize disorders, and determine the best treatments, the medical specialty of psychiatry is always up against the protean complexity of the human brain.Both biological factors and environmental factors contribute to symptoms of distress, and the role each plays varies from person to person. Both psychotherapy and drugs are effective for most psychiatric disorders, and often a combination of the two works best. Psychiatry offers you hope. It works towards the realization of your potential and dreams. It makes what is probable possible. It is not about some vague unconscious desires or madness. It can help you to cope with everyday life.
The department treats people with mental health problems. Some of the problems treated here are:
- Depression (being very sad so people cannot work, are tearful, do not eat properly etc.)
- Schizophrenia (often seeing or hearing things that are not real and behaving very strangely)
- Manic-depression (go from very-very happy to very-very sad)
- Obsessive-compulsive behaviour (doing things again and again even though they do not need doing eg cleaning hands 20 times even when they are clean)
- Phobias – being very afraid of things when they are not dangerous
- Addiction problems are treated e.g. alcohol and drug addiction – including detoxification
- Emotional problems
- Marital problems
Departmental services include:
- Ambulatory psychiatric services for adults and children.
- Care for children and adolescents with mental illness.
- Assessment and treatment of older adults with mental illness.
- Inpatient psychiatric services for patients of all ages.
- Comprehensive care for patients with all forms of depression.