The physician helps patients understand the basis of these problems and find solutions. Treatment may take several sessions over a few weeks, or many sessions over several years. Medications are useful and helpful in many instances when an evaluation suggests that medications may correct imbalances in brain chemistry, which are thought to be the cause of many mental disorders. A full psychiatric and medical evaluation and consideration of the potential benefits and risks of medication treatment is necessary before medications are prescribed. Psychiatrists can prescribe a number of medications that are effective in treating mental illnesses such as depression, panic disorder, bipolar disorder, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder and schizophrenia.
Psychiatrists usually use medications in combination with some form of psychotherapy.
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