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  • Become a psychiatrist

    Become a psychiatrist

    • Choose Psychiatry

      Choose Psychiatry

      • What is psychiatry?
      • How to become a psychiatrist
      • Why choose psychiatry?
      • Career essentials
      • What next?
      • Choose Psychiatry 2021 video
    • Sixth formers and school students
    • Medical students

      Medical students

      • Becoming a student associate
      • Psychiatry attachments
      • Awards, prizes and bursaries
      • PsychSocs
      • National conference
      • Summer and autumn schools
      • FuturePsych – the student associate magazine
      • The Student Psychiatry Audit and Research Collaborative (SPARC)
    • Foundation doctors

      Foundation doctors

      • Foundation doctor associates
      • Making the most of your psychiatry placement
      • Opportunities for foundation doctors
      • FuturePsych - the associate magazine
    • Help us promote psychiatry

      Help us promote psychiatry

      • How can I help?
      • Ideas to inspire you
      • Resources to help you promote psychiatry
    • Choose Psychiatry: Guidance for Medical Schools
    • Supporting Medical Students: Medical Schools
    • Choose Psychiatry
      • What is psychiatry?
      • How to become a psychiatrist
      • Why choose psychiatry?
      • Career essentials
      • What next?
      • Choose Psychiatry 2021 video
    • Sixth formers and school students
    • Medical students
      • Becoming a student associate
      • Psychiatry attachments
      • Awards, prizes and bursaries
      • PsychSocs
      • National conference
      • Summer and autumn schools
      • FuturePsych – the student associate magazine
      • The Student Psychiatry Audit and Research Collaborative (SPARC)
    • Foundation doctors
      • Foundation doctor associates
      • Making the most of your psychiatry placement
      • Opportunities for foundation doctors
      • FuturePsych - the associate magazine
    • Help us promote psychiatry
      • How can I help?
      • Ideas to inspire you
      • Resources to help you promote psychiatry
    • Choose Psychiatry: Guidance for Medical Schools
    • Supporting Medical Students: Medical Schools
  • Training

    Training

    • Curricula and guidance

      Curricula and guidance

      • GMC approved curricula
      • RCPsych Curricula Review 
      • Specialty guides
      • Dual Training
      • Curricula Implementation
    • Your training

      Your training

      • Psychiatric Trainees Committee: supporting you
      • Time out of training
      • Training resources
      • Run-through training
      • Prizes and bursaries for trainees
      • Training less than full time
      • Routes to Registration
      • Cost of Training
      • Leadership and Management Fellow Scheme
      • Understanding Career Choices in Psychiatry
    • Exams

      Exams

      • Can I take an exam?
      • Contact the exams team
      • Preparing for exams
      • Applying for your exam
      • Exam results
      • Special notices
      • Exam FAQs
      • A fair exam
      • Exams Help Centre
      • Examiners and exam panels recruitment
    • Neuroscience in training

      Neuroscience in training

      • About the project
      • Neuroscience events
      • Who was on the commission?
      • Neuroscience history
      • Neuroscience resources
      • Multimedia learning
    • Deanery/LETB Hub
    • Medical training initiative (MTI)
    • Undergraduate education forum
    • International Medical Graduates

      International Medical Graduates

      • Shortage Occupation List
    • Quality Assurance in Training
    • Credentialing
    • CPD eLearning
    • Building Capacity in Perinatal Psychiatry

      Building Capacity in Perinatal Psychiatry

      • Perinatal 2022 Masterclass Programme application and process details
      • Perinatal project resources
      • About the Building Capacity Project
    • Curricula and guidance
      • GMC approved curricula
      • RCPsych Curricula Review 
      • Specialty guides
      • Dual Training
      • Curricula Implementation
    • Your training
      • Psychiatric Trainees Committee: supporting you
      • Time out of training
      • Training resources
      • Run-through training
      • Prizes and bursaries for trainees
      • Training less than full time
      • Routes to Registration
      • Cost of Training
      • Leadership and Management Fellow Scheme
      • Understanding Career Choices in Psychiatry
    • Exams
      • Can I take an exam?
      • Contact the exams team
      • Preparing for exams
      • Applying for your exam
      • Exam results
      • Special notices
      • Exam FAQs
      • A fair exam
      • Exams Help Centre
      • Examiners and exam panels recruitment
    • Neuroscience in training
      • About the project
      • Neuroscience events
      • Who was on the commission?
      • Neuroscience history
      • Neuroscience resources
      • Multimedia learning
    • Deanery/LETB Hub
    • Medical training initiative (MTI)
    • Undergraduate education forum
    • International Medical Graduates
      • Shortage Occupation List
    • Quality Assurance in Training
    • Credentialing
    • CPD eLearning
    • Building Capacity in Perinatal Psychiatry
      • Perinatal 2022 Masterclass Programme application and process details
      • Perinatal project resources
      • About the Building Capacity Project
  • Members

    Members

    • Supporting you

      Supporting you

      • Psychiatrists Support Service
      • New consultants (StartWell)
      • Mentoring and coaching
      • Revalidation
      • Assessing and managing risk of patients causing harm
      • Leadership and management
      • Working less than full time
      • If a patient dies by suicide
      • Writing clinic letters
      • Looking after yourself
    • CPD eLearning
    • Submitting your CPD

      Submitting your CPD

      • CPD Submissions FAQs
      • Alterations to CPD during coronavirus pandemic
    • Membership

      Membership

      • Members login
      • Receipts
      • Pay Your Subscription
      • Direct Debit
      • Your subscription
      • Grades of membership
      • Benefits of membership
      • Fellowship and other Honours
      • Applying for Fellowship
      • Nominations for Honorary Fellows
      • Nominations for National Honours
    • Your Faculties

      Your Faculties

      • Academic psychiatry
      • Addictions psychiatry
      • Child and adolescent psychiatry
      • Eating disorders psychiatry
      • Forensic Psychiatry Faculty
      • General adult psychiatry
      • Intellectual disability psychiatry faculty
      • Liaison psychiatry faculty
      • Medical psychotherapy faculty
      • Neuropsychiatry faculty
      • Old age psychiatry faculty
      • Perinatal psychiatry faculty
      • Rehabilitation and social psychiatry faculty
      • Faculty job descriptions
    • Devolved Nations

      Devolved Nations

      • RCPsych in Scotland
      • RCPsych in Wales
      • Coleg Cymraeg
      • RCPsych in Northern Ireland
      • Executive Committee job descriptions
    • English Divisions

      English Divisions

      • Eastern
      • London
      • Northern and Yorkshire
      • North West
      • South Eastern
      • Trent
      • West Midlands
      • South West
      • Executive Committee job descriptions
      • NW and NY mentorship
    • International members
    • Special Interest Groups

      Special Interest Groups

      • How to join a SIG
      • Adolescent forensic psychiatry
      • Arts psychiatry
      • Digital psychiatry
      • Evolutionary psychiatry
      • History of psychiatry
      • Neurodevelopmental psychiatry
      • Occupational psychiatry
      • Philosophy
      • Private and independent practice PIPSIG
      • Rainbow SIG
      • Spirituality
      • Sport and exercise psychiatry (SEPSIG)
      • Transcultural psychiatry
      • Volunteering and international
      • Women and mental health
      • Special Interest Group Job Descriptions
    • Committees of Council
    • RCPsych Insight magazine
    • Publications and books
    • Your monthly eNewsletter

      Your monthly eNewsletter

      • Members' update 12 May 2022
      • RCPsych eNewsletter April 2022
      • Members' update 14 April 2022
      • RCPsych eNewsletter March 2022
      • Members' update 10 March 2022
      • RCPsych eNewsletter February 2022
      • Members' update 10 February 2022
      • RCPsych eNewsletter January 2022
      • Members' update 13 January 2022
      • RCPsych eNewsletter December 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter November 2021
      • Members' update 11 November 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter October 2021
      • Members' update 14 October 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter September 2021
      • Members' update 26 August 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter July 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter June 2021
      • Members' update 10 June 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter May 2021
      • Members' update 13 May 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter April 2021
      • Members' update 8 April 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter March 2021
      • Members' update 11 March 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter February 2021
      • Members' update 11 February 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter January 2021
      • Members' update 14 January 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter December 2020
      • RCPsych eNewsletter November 2020
      • Members' update 12 November 2020
      • RCPsych eNewsletter October 2020
      • Members' update 8 October 2020
      • RCPsych eNewsletter September 2020
      • Members' update 11 September 2020
      • Members' update 1 September 2020
      • Members' update 14 August 2020
      • RCPsych eNewsletter July 2020
      • Members' update 10 July 2020
      • RCPsych eNewsletter June 2020
      • Update 12 June 2020
      • COVID-19 Update 29 May 2020
      • RCPsych eNewsletter May 2020
      • COVID-19 Update 7 May 2020
      • COVID-19 Update 1 May 2020
      • RCPsych eNewsletter April 2020
    • Posts for members
    • Public members list
    • Jobs board
    • Specialist and Associate Specialty Doctors

      Specialist and Associate Specialty Doctors

      • A message from the Chair
      • Who are SAS Doctors?
      • How to enter the SAS grade
      • SAS career development
      • SAS doctors resources
      • College SAS training and events
      • Startwell and Staywell
    • President's lectures

      President's lectures

      • Declaration of competing interests (President's lectures)
      • List of president's lectures competing interests
      • Past President's lectures
    • Retired members
    • New Members Ceremonies
    • Obituaries

      Obituaries

      • Submit an obituary
      • Remembering Dame Fiona Caldicott
    • Membership survey
    • Mindmasters quiz

      Mindmasters quiz

      • About the quiz
      • The draw for the quiz
      • The rules of the quiz
      • Sample quiz questions 
    • Supporting you
      • Psychiatrists Support Service
      • New consultants (StartWell)
      • Mentoring and coaching
      • Revalidation
      • Assessing and managing risk of patients causing harm
      • Leadership and management
      • Working less than full time
      • If a patient dies by suicide
      • Writing clinic letters
      • Looking after yourself
    • CPD eLearning
    • Submitting your CPD
      • CPD Submissions FAQs
      • Alterations to CPD during coronavirus pandemic
    • Membership
      • Members login
      • Receipts
      • Pay Your Subscription
      • Direct Debit
      • Your subscription
      • Grades of membership
      • Benefits of membership
      • Fellowship and other Honours
      • Applying for Fellowship
      • Nominations for Honorary Fellows
      • Nominations for National Honours
    • Your Faculties
      • Academic psychiatry
      • Addictions psychiatry
      • Child and adolescent psychiatry
      • Eating disorders psychiatry
      • Forensic Psychiatry Faculty
      • General adult psychiatry
      • Intellectual disability psychiatry faculty
      • Liaison psychiatry faculty
      • Medical psychotherapy faculty
      • Neuropsychiatry faculty
      • Old age psychiatry faculty
      • Perinatal psychiatry faculty
      • Rehabilitation and social psychiatry faculty
      • Faculty job descriptions
    • Devolved Nations
      • RCPsych in Scotland
      • RCPsych in Wales
      • Coleg Cymraeg
      • RCPsych in Northern Ireland
      • Executive Committee job descriptions
    • English Divisions
      • Eastern
      • London
      • Northern and Yorkshire
      • North West
      • South Eastern
      • Trent
      • West Midlands
      • South West
      • Executive Committee job descriptions
      • NW and NY mentorship
    • International members
    • Special Interest Groups
      • How to join a SIG
      • Adolescent forensic psychiatry
      • Arts psychiatry
      • Digital psychiatry
      • Evolutionary psychiatry
      • History of psychiatry
      • Neurodevelopmental psychiatry
      • Occupational psychiatry
      • Philosophy
      • Private and independent practice PIPSIG
      • Rainbow SIG
      • Spirituality
      • Sport and exercise psychiatry (SEPSIG)
      • Transcultural psychiatry
      • Volunteering and international
      • Women and mental health
      • Special Interest Group Job Descriptions
    • Committees of Council
    • RCPsych Insight magazine
    • Publications and books
    • Your monthly eNewsletter
      • Members' update 12 May 2022
      • RCPsych eNewsletter April 2022
      • Members' update 14 April 2022
      • RCPsych eNewsletter March 2022
      • Members' update 10 March 2022
      • RCPsych eNewsletter February 2022
      • Members' update 10 February 2022
      • RCPsych eNewsletter January 2022
      • Members' update 13 January 2022
      • RCPsych eNewsletter December 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter November 2021
      • Members' update 11 November 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter October 2021
      • Members' update 14 October 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter September 2021
      • Members' update 26 August 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter July 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter June 2021
      • Members' update 10 June 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter May 2021
      • Members' update 13 May 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter April 2021
      • Members' update 8 April 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter March 2021
      • Members' update 11 March 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter February 2021
      • Members' update 11 February 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter January 2021
      • Members' update 14 January 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter December 2020
      • RCPsych eNewsletter November 2020
      • Members' update 12 November 2020
      • RCPsych eNewsletter October 2020
      • Members' update 8 October 2020
      • RCPsych eNewsletter September 2020
      • Members' update 11 September 2020
      • Members' update 1 September 2020
      • Members' update 14 August 2020
      • RCPsych eNewsletter July 2020
      • Members' update 10 July 2020
      • RCPsych eNewsletter June 2020
      • Update 12 June 2020
      • COVID-19 Update 29 May 2020
      • RCPsych eNewsletter May 2020
      • COVID-19 Update 7 May 2020
      • COVID-19 Update 1 May 2020
      • RCPsych eNewsletter April 2020
    • Posts for members
    • Public members list
    • Jobs board
    • Specialist and Associate Specialty Doctors
      • A message from the Chair
      • Who are SAS Doctors?
      • How to enter the SAS grade
      • SAS career development
      • SAS doctors resources
      • College SAS training and events
      • Startwell and Staywell
    • President's lectures
      • Declaration of competing interests (President's lectures)
      • List of president's lectures competing interests
      • Past President's lectures
    • Retired members
    • New Members Ceremonies
    • Obituaries
      • Submit an obituary
      • Remembering Dame Fiona Caldicott
    • Membership survey
    • Mindmasters quiz
      • About the quiz
      • The draw for the quiz
      • The rules of the quiz
      • Sample quiz questions 
  • Events

    Events

    • Conferences and training events

      Conferences and training events

      • Register your interest - CESR in Psychiatry Training
      • MHA Section 12 and Approved Clinician Training
      • Register your interest - Present State Examination Course 2022
      • Subscribe to receive the Events eNews
      • Register your interest - ICD-11 events
      • RCPsych Certificated Courses
    • International Congress 2022

      International Congress 2022

      • Congress 2022 FAQs
      • Registration
      • Poster Presentations 2022
      • Exhibition Opportunities 2022
      • Your guide to Congress
      • IC22 Keynote speakers
      • Programme
      • Travel and accommodation guidance 
      • Social and Fringe Events
      • #RCPsychIC
    • In-house training

      In-house training

      • In house training: working with us
      • Health of Nation Outcome Scales
      • Competing interests
    • Events held by other organisations
    • Free webinars

      Free webinars

      • Free webinars for members
    • Recruitment events
    • Claiming Expenses
    • Terms and conditions
    • Speaker guidance for online events
    • Conferences and training events
      • Register your interest - CESR in Psychiatry Training
      • MHA Section 12 and Approved Clinician Training
      • Register your interest - Present State Examination Course 2022
      • Subscribe to receive the Events eNews
      • Register your interest - ICD-11 events
      • RCPsych Certificated Courses
    • International Congress 2022
      • Congress 2022 FAQs
      • Registration
      • Poster Presentations 2022
      • Exhibition Opportunities 2022
      • Your guide to Congress
      • IC22 Keynote speakers
      • Programme
      • Travel and accommodation guidance 
      • Social and Fringe Events
      • #RCPsychIC
    • In-house training
      • In house training: working with us
      • Health of Nation Outcome Scales
      • Competing interests
    • Events held by other organisations
    • Free webinars
      • Free webinars for members
    • Recruitment events
    • Claiming Expenses
    • Terms and conditions
    • Speaker guidance for online events
  • Improving care

    Improving care

    • College Centre for Quality Improvement (CCQI)

      College Centre for Quality Improvement (CCQI)

      • What we do in the CCQI
      • Quality Networks and Accreditation
      • National Clinical Audits
      • Multi-source feedback
      • CCQI resources
      • CCQI Who we are
      • Research and evaluation
      • CCQI news
    • Campaigning for better mental health policy

      Campaigning for better mental health policy

      • The Mental Health Act (MHA)
      • Five Year Forward View
      • Integrated care and mental health
      • Children and young people's mental health Green Paper
      • RCPsych in Parliament
      • Join our Research Panel
      • College Reports
      • Position statements
      • Process for College publications
      • Other policy areas
      • Mental Health Watch
      • COVID-19: Guidance for clinicians
      • Reforming The Mental Health Act
      • Don't overlook mental health campaign
      • The Mental Health Policy Group (MHPG)
    • Planning the psychiatric workforce

      Planning the psychiatric workforce

      • About workforce
      • Job planning and recruitment
      • Our workforce census
      • Campaigning for the mental health workforce of the future
      • Workforce strategy
      • Job description approval process
    • Public Mental Health Implementation Centre

      Public Mental Health Implementation Centre

      • Our partners and first partnership activity 
      • How to work with the Public Mental Health Implementation Centre
      • Who's involved in the Public Mental Health Implementation Centre?
      • Aims and objectives
      • Reports
      • About public mental health
    • National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health

      National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health

      • About NCCMH and our work
      • Clinical guideline development
      • Competence frameworks
      • COVID-19 Mental Health Improvement Network
      • Mental health quality improvement programmes
      • National suicide prevention programme
      • Reports and research
      • RCPsych Enjoying Work Collaborative
      • Reducing restrictive practice
      • Service design and development
      • Sexual Safety Collaborative
      • Work with us
      • Improving Quality in Inpatient Mental Health Settings Scoping and Design Exercise
    • Physician Associates

      Physician Associates

      • About Physician Associates
      • Employing Physician Associates
      • Becoming a Physician Associate
      • Support for Physician Associates
      • Physician Associates network
      • The Competence Framework for Physician Associates in Mental Health
    • Invited Review Service
    • Public Health and its role in mental heath
    • Sustainability and working sustainably

      Sustainability and working sustainably

      • In your community
      • In your practice
      • In your trust
      • Nature matters
      • Sustainability scholars
      • About sustainability in mental health care
      • Sustainability resources
      • Working sustainably (old)
      • College position on sustainability
      • Attending COP26
    • RCPsych Course Accreditation

      RCPsych Course Accreditation

      • Apply for accreditation
    • Using quality improvement
    • College Centre for Quality Improvement (CCQI)
      • What we do in the CCQI
      • Quality Networks and Accreditation
      • National Clinical Audits
      • Multi-source feedback
      • CCQI resources
      • CCQI Who we are
      • Research and evaluation
      • CCQI news
    • Campaigning for better mental health policy
      • The Mental Health Act (MHA)
      • Five Year Forward View
      • Integrated care and mental health
      • Children and young people's mental health Green Paper
      • RCPsych in Parliament
      • Join our Research Panel
      • College Reports
      • Position statements
      • Process for College publications
      • Other policy areas
      • Mental Health Watch
      • COVID-19: Guidance for clinicians
      • Reforming The Mental Health Act
      • Don't overlook mental health campaign
      • The Mental Health Policy Group (MHPG)
    • Planning the psychiatric workforce
      • About workforce
      • Job planning and recruitment
      • Our workforce census
      • Campaigning for the mental health workforce of the future
      • Workforce strategy
      • Job description approval process
    • Public Mental Health Implementation Centre
      • Our partners and first partnership activity 
      • How to work with the Public Mental Health Implementation Centre
      • Who's involved in the Public Mental Health Implementation Centre?
      • Aims and objectives
      • Reports
      • About public mental health
    • National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health
      • About NCCMH and our work
      • Clinical guideline development
      • Competence frameworks
      • COVID-19 Mental Health Improvement Network
      • Mental health quality improvement programmes
      • National suicide prevention programme
      • Reports and research
      • RCPsych Enjoying Work Collaborative
      • Reducing restrictive practice
      • Service design and development
      • Sexual Safety Collaborative
      • Work with us
      • Improving Quality in Inpatient Mental Health Settings Scoping and Design Exercise
    • Physician Associates
      • About Physician Associates
      • Employing Physician Associates
      • Becoming a Physician Associate
      • Support for Physician Associates
      • Physician Associates network
      • The Competence Framework for Physician Associates in Mental Health
    • Invited Review Service
    • Public Health and its role in mental heath
    • Sustainability and working sustainably
      • In your community
      • In your practice
      • In your trust
      • Nature matters
      • Sustainability scholars
      • About sustainability in mental health care
      • Sustainability resources
      • Working sustainably (old)
      • College position on sustainability
      • Attending COP26
    • RCPsych Course Accreditation
      • Apply for accreditation
    • Using quality improvement
  • Mental health

    Mental health

    • Problems and disorders

      Problems and disorders

      • ADHD in adults
      • Alcohol and depression
      • Alcohol and older people
      • Anorexia and bulimia
      • Anxiety, panic and phobias
      • Bereavement
      • Bipolar disorder
      • Cannabis
      • Club drugs
      • Coping after a traumatic event
      • Debt and mental health
      • Delirium
      • Depression
      • Depression in older adults
      • Eating well and mental health
      • Feeling on the edge
      • Feeling overwhelmed
      • Feeling stressed
      • Hoarding
      • Learning disabilities
      • Medically unexplained symptoms
      • Memory problems and dementia
      • Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
      • Perinatal OCD
      • Perinatal OCD for carers
      • Personality disorder
      • Physical illness
      • Postnatal depression
      • Postnatal depression key facts
      • Postnatal depression: information for carers
      • Postpartum psychosis
      • Postpartum Psychosis in Carers
      • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) 
      • Gambling disorder
      • Schizoaffective disorder
      • Schizophrenia
      • Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
      • Self harm
      • Shyness and social phobia
      • Sleeping well
    • Support, care and treatment

      Support, care and treatment

      • Alzheimers drug treatments
      • Antidepressants
      • Antipsychotics
      • Antipsychotics in pregnancy
      • Being sectioned
      • Benzodiazepines
      • Children's social services and safeguarding
      • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
      • Complementary and alternative medicines: herbal remedies
      • Complementary and alternative medicines: physical treatments
      • Depot medication
      • Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards
      • Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
      • Electronic health records in mental health services in England
      • Guide to mental health tribunals
      • Liaison psychiatry services
      • Lithium in pregnancy and breastfeeding
      • Mental capacity and the law
      • Mental health in pregnancy
      • Mental health rehabilitation services
      • Mental health services and teams in the community
      • Mother and baby units (MBUs)
      • Neuromodulation
      • Perinatal mental health services: what are they?
      • Planning a pregnancy
      • Psychotherapies and psychological treatments
      • Social prescribing
      • Spirituality and mental health
      • Stopping antidepressants
      • Valproate in women and girls who could get pregnant
      • What to expect of your psychiatrist in the UK
      • COVID-19: Medication for mental health
      • COVID-19: Remote consultations
      • COVID-19: Going to hospital for a physical illness or injury
      • COVID-19: Eating disorders
      • COVID-19: Perinatal care
      • COVID-19: Using drugs
      • Hypnosis and hypnotherapy
    • Young people's mental health
    • Translations

      Translations

      • Arabic عربى
      • Bengali বাঙালি
      • Bulgarian български
      • Chinese 中文
      • French Français
      • German Deutsch
      • Greek Ελληνική γλώσσα
      • Gujurati ગુજરાતી
      • Hindi हिंदीहिंदी
      • Italian italiano
      • Japanese 日本語
      • Lithuanian Lietuvių kalba
      • Pashto پښتو
      • Persian (Farsi) فارسی
      • Polish Polski
      • Punjabi ਪੰਜਾਬੀ
      • Romanian Română
      • Russian Pусский
      • Somali
      • Spanish Español
      • Turkish
      • Tamil தமிழ்
      • Urdu اردو
      • Welsh Cymraeg
      • Sindhi سنڌي
      • Ukrainian украї́нська
    • Mental health and psychiatry FAQs
    • Order mental health leaflets
    • About our mental health information
    • Disclaimer about our mental health information
    • Choosing Wisely - a national campaign
    • BSL translations
    • MindEd – free mental health eLearning
    • Order mental health packs for schools
    • Audio resources
    • Veterans' mental health
    • Suicide resources
    • Problems and disorders
      • ADHD in adults
      • Alcohol and depression
      • Alcohol and older people
      • Anorexia and bulimia
      • Anxiety, panic and phobias
      • Bereavement
      • Bipolar disorder
      • Cannabis
      • Club drugs
      • Coping after a traumatic event
      • Debt and mental health
      • Delirium
      • Depression
      • Depression in older adults
      • Eating well and mental health
      • Feeling on the edge
      • Feeling overwhelmed
      • Feeling stressed
      • Hoarding
      • Learning disabilities
      • Medically unexplained symptoms
      • Memory problems and dementia
      • Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
      • Perinatal OCD
      • Perinatal OCD for carers
      • Personality disorder
      • Physical illness
      • Postnatal depression
      • Postnatal depression key facts
      • Postnatal depression: information for carers
      • Postpartum psychosis
      • Postpartum Psychosis in Carers
      • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) 
      • Gambling disorder
      • Schizoaffective disorder
      • Schizophrenia
      • Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
      • Self harm
      • Shyness and social phobia
      • Sleeping well
    • Support, care and treatment
      • Alzheimers drug treatments
      • Antidepressants
      • Antipsychotics
      • Antipsychotics in pregnancy
      • Being sectioned
      • Benzodiazepines
      • Children's social services and safeguarding
      • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
      • Complementary and alternative medicines: herbal remedies
      • Complementary and alternative medicines: physical treatments
      • Depot medication
      • Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards
      • Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
      • Electronic health records in mental health services in England
      • Guide to mental health tribunals
      • Liaison psychiatry services
      • Lithium in pregnancy and breastfeeding
      • Mental capacity and the law
      • Mental health in pregnancy
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What makes a great psychiatrist? Four core skills every trainee psychiatrist needs

Careers in psychiatry, Choose Psychiatry, RCPsych in Wales blog

28 October, 2020

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Interested in specialising in psychiatry? Dr Ian Collings explores the key competencies that are vital for any medical student or trainee doctor transitioning into mental health.

Hello! My name is Ian and I'm a rehabilitation psychiatrist.

I’m incredibly passionate about education and development, and have a number of roles in Wales related to this – from improving trainee support through Health Education and Improvement Wales, to directing the Welsh Clinical Leadership Fellowship, a one year out of program qualification for doctors and other healthcare professionals to develop leadership skills.

I have always loved the responsibility of promoting psychiatry to medical students and trainee doctors. I think psychiatry provides the opportunity to have a wonderful, fulfilling medical career that can be truly humbling and uplifting at the same time. It is a great privilege to work with people at the most difficult times in their lives – a responsibility that psychiatrists should cherish and be the guardian of.

Practising any aspect of medicine is a lifelong learning process, one in which mistakes sometimes happen, and you can take a wrong turn. The important thing is to always reflect, move forward and grow when things don’t go to plan. After all, even doctors like myself don’t have everything figured out.

In addition, there are some skills that it’s helpful to focus on, to adapt to the psychiatric working environment. If I was to distil some of the most important ones a medical student or trainee doctor should try to develop to really shine, these would be my top four.

1. Great communication skills

Communication skills are of course the cornerstone of practising medicine, but I would say that they are even more crucial when you are a psychiatrist.

As psychiatrists, we spend a lot of time with patients listening to them in a non-judgemental way. We listen to try and understand their lives, their inner worlds and their thoughts, feelings and emotions. A thorough history is crucial when trying to diagnose our patients’ problems – and we may often have to try and support them when they have a range of communication difficulties, for example in those with physical brain disorders (such as dementia or brain damage) or intellectual disabilities.

This is why patience and understanding go hand in hand with being able to listen effectively. When communicating with patients, we also need to strive in doing it in a way that is clear, effective and understandable – avoiding jargon and using language that is familiar to them. Without this, we won’t be able to build a productive and supportive relationship with them.

2. The ability to manage uncertainty

Psychiatry is a specialty of clinical uncertainty. Humans are complex beings with unique patterns of experience and behaviour, and, for that reason, mental illness can often evolve, with diagnoses changing as more information comes to light.

In addition, patients diagnosed with the same illness will often require very different plans in place to support them. No two people suffering from schizophrenia – for example – will have the same cluster of symptoms. And people will respond differently to treatments; one may respond fully to a medication whereas someone else may not respond at all.

For me, this is one of the most fascinating things about being a psychiatrist – a feature which always ensures you are thinking on your feet. Our patients do not fit neatly into boxes and this can be challenging (and sometimes frustrating) for those who require more clear boundaries when practising medicine.

If you can embrace this aspect of psychiatry, you’ll be destined for a rewarding career filled with intellectual stimulation and enquiry.

3. Dealing with difficult emotions

The behaviour of our patients – and the stories they tell us – can sometimes be challenging, and this can impact the way we may communicate or empathise with them.

Take for example a patient who is aggressive or hostile to us. Of course, it is so important not to take this kind of response personally, as the patient may be angry about a range of issues unrelated to you. But this is often easier said than done – it can be completely human to become angry or frightened in these circumstances. The flight or fight response results in adrenaline coursing through our veins, and it’s not always easy to keep it in check.

Throughout my career, this has been the skill that I have had to work at the most. As a young psychiatric trainee doctor, I remember a time I became angry and raised my voice when faced with a particularly aggressive patient. The patient was a young man who had been referred to an outpatient clinic for psychotic symptoms – and after our first appointment he stormed out even more angry than when he entered. I kicked myself afterwards and spent the next few sessions trying to repair the doctor/patient relationship. I was fortunate he came back!

I eventually went on to develop an excellent relationship with him, diagnosing him with OCD – not psychosis – and effectively treating him. I think about that encounter even now as a consultant. The key is to try to become calmer as the patient gets angrier. It can often help to diffuse a situation ... but it does need a lot of practice!

4. A broad understanding of illness

I have often heard psychiatry referred to as ‘an art rather than a science’. Of course, that’s not totally true – but it is incredibly important not to just focus on the biological aspects of mental illness. One needs to look at our patients through the psychological and social lens as well.

Mental illness has complex and intertwined aetiologies. Whilst neurotransmitters and genetics play an important role in mental illness, so do the impact of life experiences and the sociocultural context of the individual. Similarly, our treatments in psychiatry aren’t just about prescribing medications. Whilst medications can play an important role, psychological and social treatments are just as important and always need to be considered side by side with medication.

This is why psychiatrists need to have a good understanding of the psychological and social aspects of illness and illness behaviour, and not just be biologically-minded.

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One of the interesting things about some of the skills above is that they haven’t just helped me to develop into a better doctor and psychiatrist – they have helped me in my other roles, as well as in life in general. Being able to effectively communicate, navigate in uncertain times and deal with people’s difficult emotions are key to being an effective leader, too.

If you are keen to develop and diversify your career, the skills you learn as a psychiatrist can really facilitate this – and will give you an advantage in all areas of your life, beyond the walls of your workplace.

Blog Author
Dr Ian Collings
Dr Ian Collings

Rehabilitation Psychiatrist

#ChoosePsychiatry

As a psychiatrist, you’ll draw on your medical, scientific and interpersonal skills to work with people of all ages and from all walks of life. The treatment and support you provide will change lives.
Find out more
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