A child psychiatrist is another name for a pediatric psychiatrist. Medical doctors who have completed medical school are all psychiatrists. They specialize in psychiatry after completing this program, and some continue to study and practice child psychiatry after becoming licensed psychiatrists. They are essentially highly specialized doctors who work with children who have mental disorders or developmental conditions such as retardation, significant learning disabilities, or Tourette syndrome, among other things.
The treatment of children differs from the treatment of adults, according to the psychiatric community. Children and teenagers are not small adults, and they require specialized care. The pediatric psychiatrist must think about how to change or titrate medication dosages, how to administer therapy, and how to best address mental or developmental disorders in children. These specialists frequently interact directly with the parents of the patients they treat, and they may include parents or other caregivers in the treatment decision-making process.
A pediatric psychiatrist may be employed in a variety of settings. He or she could keep an office and treat most of his or her patients as outpatients. Some of these doctors specialize in treating children and teenagers who are admitted to inpatient hospitals for short or long stays. Working with state agencies such as Child Protective Services is another role that a child psychiatrist can play (or its equivalents). They may examine children suspected of being abused or make decisions about the mental stability of children accused of crimes. They are known as forensic child or pediatric psychiatrists in this last capacity.
A pediatric psychiatrist may work with a group of mental health professionals in most jobs. Despite the fact that these doctors are trained and capable of administering therapy, it is not always their primary responsibility. In addition to cooperating with observations made by a child’s pediatrician, they may work with psychologists or other licensed counselors who do the majority of therapy work with a child or teen. Some psychiatrists choose to provide both therapy and medication management, but this varies.
Psychiatrists account for about 5% of all licensed doctors in the United States, with even fewer specializing in children’s psychiatry. Finding a licensed pediatric psychiatrist in a remote location can be difficult. Although any psychiatrist is qualified to treat children, many in the field believe that a pediatric psychiatrist is better equipped to handle the complexities of psychiatric illness or conditions that affect children and teenagers.