Psychiatry

The Psychiatry Department is a branch of medicine that serves to evaluate, diagnose and treat mental and spiritual health problems of individuals. Adopting scientific approaches to understand human behavior, emotions and thoughts, this unit deals with mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, as well as post-traumatic stress disorder, addictions and sleep disorders. It also provides important support in the management of stress, relational difficulties and life crises encountered in daily life.

Different treatment methods such as drug therapy, individual and group therapies, psychological evaluations and counseling are applied with a multidisciplinary approach in psychiatry units.

The Psychiatry Department of our hospital is structured with the aim of protecting and developing mental health. Our team provides treatment and support appropriate to the individual needs of our patients.

In our department, modern scientific methods are used in the diagnosis and treatment of mental problems; a safe, ethical and human-respectful service approach is adopted for individuals of all ages. In this unit, where we prioritize the privacy and security of our patients, our basic principle is to address mental health with a holistic approach.

How are mental health disorders diagnosed?

As with any illness, you need a correct diagnosis to receive the right treatment for psychiatric disorders. Before your examination, you should provide your doctor with the following information:

Are there any particular triggers that worsen your mental health?
Are your mental health problems chronic or do they come and go?
When did you first notice changes in your mental health?

Your doctor may order or perform a series of medical laboratory and psychological tests that, along with interviews, help to develop a picture of your physical and mental condition.

Specific diagnoses are based on criteria established in the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). This manual includes definitions, symptoms, and other diagnostic criteria for mental disorders.

What disorders are treated in the psychiatry department?

Diseases also covered in the psychiatry department include:

Neurodevelopmental Disorders:A broad range of problems that usually begin in infancy or childhood, often before a child enters elementary school. Examples include autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and learning disabilities.

Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders: Psychotic disorders cause symptoms of detachment from reality, such as delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized thinking and speech. The most obvious example is schizophrenia, but other classes of disorders can also be associated with detachment from reality.

Bipolar and Related Disorders: This class includes disorders that alternate periods of mania — periods of excessive activity, energy, and excitement — and depression.

Depressive Disorders: These include disorders that affect how you feel emotionally and your ability to function, such as your level of sadness and happiness. Examples include major depressive disorder and premenstrual dysphoric disorder.

Anxiety Disorders: Anxiety is an emotion characterized by excessive worry and anticipation of future danger or misfortune. It can include behaviors aimed at avoiding situations that cause anxiety. This class includes generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and phobias.

Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders: These disorders involve obsessions and repetitive thoughts and actions. Examples include obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), hoarding disorder, and hair-pulling disorder (trichotillomania).

Trauma and Stressor-Related Disorders: These are adjustment disorders in which a person has difficulty coping during or after a stressful life event. Examples include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and acute stress disorder.

Dissociative Disorders: These are disorders in which your sense of self is disrupted, such as dissociative identity disorder and dissociative amnesia.

Somatic symptom and related disorders: A person with one of these disorders may have physical symptoms that cause great emotional distress and impaired functioning. There may or may not be another diagnosed medical condition associated with these symptoms, but the response to the symptoms is not normal. These disorders include somatic symptom disorder and illness anxiety disorder.

Feeding and Eating Disorders: These include eating disorders that affect nutrition and health, such as anorexia nervosa and binge eating disorder.

Elimination Disorders: These involve the inappropriate elimination of urine or feces, either accidentally or intentionally. Bedwetting (enuresis) is an example.

Sleep-Wake Disorders: Sleep disorders that are severe enough to require clinical attention, such as insomnia, sleep apnea, and restless legs syndrome.

Sexual Dysfunctions: Include sexual response disorders such as premature ejaculation and female orgasm disorder.

Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders: Include emotional and behavioral self-control problems such as kleptomania or intermittent explosive disorder.

Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders: Include problems with excessive use of alcohol, caffeine, tobacco, and drugs. This class also includes gambling disorder.

Neurocognitive Disorders: Affect your ability to think and reason. These acquired (rather than developmental) cognitive problems include delirium, as well as neurocognitive disorders due to conditions or diseases such as traumatic brain injury or Alzheimer’s disease.

Personality Disorders Involve a persistent pattern of emotional instability and unhealthy behavior that causes problems in your life and relationships. Examples include borderline, antisocial, and narcissistic personality disorders.

Paraphilic Disorders Involve sexual interest that causes personal distress or impairment or potential or actual harm to another person. Examples include sexual sadism disorder, voyeurism disorder, and pedophilic disorder.

Other Mental Disorders This class includes mental disorders that are due to other medical conditions or do not meet full criteria for one of the above disorders.