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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?
      • What next?
      • On a break from training?
      • Help support our campaign
      • Choose Psychiatry – Guidance for Medical Schools
      • 'Make this a better world'
      • Continue to choose psychiatry
    • Sixth formers and school students
    • Medical students

      Medical students

      • Becoming a student associate
      • Psychiatry attachments
      • Awards, prizes and bursaries for medical students
      • PsychSocs
      • National Student Psychiatry 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
      • Applying to Core and Higher Training
      • Careers in mental health research
    • Help us promote psychiatry

      Help us promote psychiatry

      • How can I help?
      • Ideas to inspire you
      • Resources to help you promote psychiatry
      • RCPsych Recruitment Strategy 2022-2027
    • Supporting Medical Students: Medical Schools
    • Choose Psychiatry
      • What is psychiatry?
      • How to become a psychiatrist
      • Why choose psychiatry?
      • What next?
      • On a break from training?
      • Help support our campaign
      • Choose Psychiatry – Guidance for Medical Schools
      • 'Make this a better world'
      • Continue to choose psychiatry
    • Sixth formers and school students
    • Medical students
      • Becoming a student associate
      • Psychiatry attachments
      • Awards, prizes and bursaries for medical students
      • PsychSocs
      • National Student Psychiatry 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
      • Applying to Core and Higher Training
      • Careers in mental health research
    • Help us promote psychiatry
      • How can I help?
      • Ideas to inspire you
      • Resources to help you promote psychiatry
      • RCPsych Recruitment Strategy 2022-2027
    • Supporting Medical Students: Medical Schools
  • Training

    Training

    • Exams

      Exams

      • Can I take an exam?
      • Contact the Exams team
      • Preparing for exams
      • Applying for your exam
      • Exam results
      • Special notices
      • A fair exam
      • Examiners and exam panels recruitment
      • FAQs about applying for exams
      • FAQs about preparing for exams
      • FAQs about the day of the exam
      • FAQs about assessment and results
      • Exams news and updates
      • Exams Reading List
      • FAQs about our exam centre in Doha
    • Curricula and guidance

      Curricula and guidance

      • 2022 Curricula Implementation Hub
      • 2014 GMC approved curricula (ending July 2024)
      • Specialty training guides
      • Dual training
      • Assessment Strategy Review
    • Portfolio Online
    • Your training

      Your training

      • Psychiatric Resident Doctors' Committee: supporting you
      • Routes to Registration
      • Applying for training
      • Run-through training
      • Training less than full time
      • Time out of training
      • Academic Training
      • Understanding Career Choices in Psychiatry
      • Leadership and Management Fellow Scheme
      • Prizes and bursaries for trainees
      • Cost of Training
      • Industrial action FAQs
      • Distribution of medical training posts
      • Presenting evidence at mental health tribunals
    • Medical training initiative (MTI)
    • International Medical Graduates
    • Employer Hub
    • Undergraduate education forum
    • Quality Assurance in Training
    • Credentialing
    • CPD eLearning
    • Dean's Quarterly Updates

      Dean's Quarterly Updates

      • Dean's Quarterly Update - April 2025
      • Dean's Quarterly Update - January 2025
      • Dean's Quarterly Update - September 2024
      • Dean's Quarterly Update - June 2024
      • Dean's Quarterly Update - February 2024
      • Dean's Quarterly Update - October 2023
      • Dean's Quarterly Update - June 2023
      • Dean's Quarterly Update - March 2023
      • Dean's update - 2022
    • Building Capacity in Perinatal Psychiatry

      Building Capacity in Perinatal Psychiatry

      • Perinatal Psychiatry Masterclass Series
      • About the Building Capacity Project
    • RCPsych Learn
    • Exams
      • Can I take an exam?
      • Contact the Exams team
      • Preparing for exams
      • Applying for your exam
      • Exam results
      • Special notices
      • A fair exam
      • Examiners and exam panels recruitment
      • FAQs about applying for exams
      • FAQs about preparing for exams
      • FAQs about the day of the exam
      • FAQs about assessment and results
      • Exams news and updates
      • Exams Reading List
      • FAQs about our exam centre in Doha
    • Curricula and guidance
      • 2022 Curricula Implementation Hub
      • 2014 GMC approved curricula (ending July 2024)
      • Specialty training guides
      • Dual training
      • Assessment Strategy Review
    • Portfolio Online
    • Your training
      • Psychiatric Resident Doctors' Committee: supporting you
      • Routes to Registration
      • Applying for training
      • Run-through training
      • Training less than full time
      • Time out of training
      • Academic Training
      • Understanding Career Choices in Psychiatry
      • Leadership and Management Fellow Scheme
      • Prizes and bursaries for trainees
      • Cost of Training
      • Industrial action FAQs
      • Distribution of medical training posts
      • Presenting evidence at mental health tribunals
    • Medical training initiative (MTI)
    • International Medical Graduates
    • Employer Hub
    • Undergraduate education forum
    • Quality Assurance in Training
    • Credentialing
    • CPD eLearning
    • Dean's Quarterly Updates
      • Dean's Quarterly Update - April 2025
      • Dean's Quarterly Update - January 2025
      • Dean's Quarterly Update - September 2024
      • Dean's Quarterly Update - June 2024
      • Dean's Quarterly Update - February 2024
      • Dean's Quarterly Update - October 2023
      • Dean's Quarterly Update - June 2023
      • Dean's Quarterly Update - March 2023
      • Dean's update - 2022
    • Building Capacity in Perinatal Psychiatry
      • Perinatal Psychiatry Masterclass Series
      • About the Building Capacity Project
    • RCPsych Learn
  • Members

    Members

    • 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
    • Submitting your CPD
    • Workforce Wellbeing Hub

      Workforce Wellbeing Hub

      • Psychiatrists' Support Service (PSS)
      • How the College supports workforce wellbeing
      • Top 10 tips for wellbeing
      • Coaching and mentoring
      • If a patient dies by suicide
      • If a patient commits homicide
      • Support for Refugee Psychiatrists
    • Supporting your professional development

      Supporting your professional development

      • New consultants (StartWell)
      • Revalidation
      • Assessing and managing risk of patients causing harm
      • Leadership and management
      • Working less than full time
      • Writing clinic letters
      • If a patient dies by suicide
    • CPD eLearning
    • Your faculties

      Your faculties

      • Faculty of Academic Psychiatry
      • Faculty of Addictions Psychiatry
      • Faculty of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
      • Faculty of Eating Disorders Psychiatry
      • Faculty of Forensic Psychiatry
      • Faculty of General Adult Psychiatry
      • Faculty of the Psychiatry of Intellectual Disability
      • Faculty of Liaison Psychiatry
      • Faculty of Medical Psychotherapy
      • Faculty of Neuropsychiatry
      • Faculty of Old Age Psychiatry
      • Faculty of Perinatal Psychiatry
      • Faculty of Rehabilitation and Social Psychiatry
      • Faculty job descriptions
    • Specialty and Specialist Doctors

      Specialty and Specialist 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
      • SAS Strategy
    • Devolved Nations

      Devolved Nations

      • RCPsych in Scotland
      • RCPsych in Wales
      • CBSeic Cymru
      • RCPsych in Northern Ireland
      • Executive Committee job descriptions
    • English Divisions

      English Divisions

      • Eastern Division
      • London Division
      • Northern and Yorkshire Division
      • North West Division
      • South Eastern Division
      • South West Division
      • Trent Division
      • West Midlands Division
      • Executive Committee job descriptions
      • All Division events
    • International members
    • Special Interest Groups

      Special Interest Groups

      • How to join a Special Interest Group (SIG)
      • Adolescent Forensic Psychiatry Special Interest Group (AFPSIG)
      • Arts Psychiatry Special Interest Group (ArtSIG)
      • Digital Psychiatry Special Interest Group (DPSIG)
      • Evolutionary Psychiatry Special Interest Group (EPSIG)
      • History of Psychiatry Special Interest Group (HoPSIG)
      • Neurodevelopmental Psychiatry Special Interest Group (NDPSIG)
      • Occupational Psychiatry Special Interest Group (OPSIG)
      • Philosophy Special Interest Group 
      • Private and Independent Practice Special Interest Group (PIPSIG)
      • Rainbow Special Interest Group
      • Spirituality and Psychiatry Special Interest Group (SPSIG)
      • Sport and Exercise Psychiatry Special Interest Group (SEPSIG)
      • Transcultural psychiatry Special Interest Group (TSIG)
      • Volunteering and International Psychiatry Special Interest Group (VIPSIG)
      • Women and Mental Health Special Interest Group (WMHSIG)
      • Annual SIG Newsletters
    • Public members list
    • RCPsych Insight magazine

      RCPsych Insight magazine

      • RCPsych Insight Cover Art Exhibition
    • Publications and books
    • Members' eNewsletters
    • Posts for members
    • Jobs board
    • Committees of Council
    • 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
    • eLearning Hub
    • Obituaries

      Obituaries

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

      Mindmasters quiz

      • Attend Mindmasters 2025
      • Who won in 2024?
      • The rules of the quiz
      • Sample quiz questions 
    • RCPsych ceremonies

      RCPsych ceremonies

      • New Members Ceremonies
      • Fellowship ceremonies
      • Specialist Registration Ceremonies
    • Question Time with the Officers
    • 2024 membership feedback
    • Speciality and Sub-Speciality (SAC/SSAC) Advisory Committees
    • 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
    • Submitting your CPD
    • Workforce Wellbeing Hub
      • Psychiatrists' Support Service (PSS)
      • How the College supports workforce wellbeing
      • Top 10 tips for wellbeing
      • Coaching and mentoring
      • If a patient dies by suicide
      • If a patient commits homicide
      • Support for Refugee Psychiatrists
    • Supporting your professional development
      • New consultants (StartWell)
      • Revalidation
      • Assessing and managing risk of patients causing harm
      • Leadership and management
      • Working less than full time
      • Writing clinic letters
      • If a patient dies by suicide
    • CPD eLearning
    • Your faculties
      • Faculty of Academic Psychiatry
      • Faculty of Addictions Psychiatry
      • Faculty of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
      • Faculty of Eating Disorders Psychiatry
      • Faculty of Forensic Psychiatry
      • Faculty of General Adult Psychiatry
      • Faculty of the Psychiatry of Intellectual Disability
      • Faculty of Liaison Psychiatry
      • Faculty of Medical Psychotherapy
      • Faculty of Neuropsychiatry
      • Faculty of Old Age Psychiatry
      • Faculty of Perinatal Psychiatry
      • Faculty of Rehabilitation and Social Psychiatry
      • Faculty job descriptions
    • Specialty and Specialist 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
      • SAS Strategy
    • Devolved Nations
      • RCPsych in Scotland
      • RCPsych in Wales
      • CBSeic Cymru
      • RCPsych in Northern Ireland
      • Executive Committee job descriptions
    • English Divisions
      • Eastern Division
      • London Division
      • Northern and Yorkshire Division
      • North West Division
      • South Eastern Division
      • South West Division
      • Trent Division
      • West Midlands Division
      • Executive Committee job descriptions
      • All Division events
    • International members
    • Special Interest Groups
      • How to join a Special Interest Group (SIG)
      • Adolescent Forensic Psychiatry Special Interest Group (AFPSIG)
      • Arts Psychiatry Special Interest Group (ArtSIG)
      • Digital Psychiatry Special Interest Group (DPSIG)
      • Evolutionary Psychiatry Special Interest Group (EPSIG)
      • History of Psychiatry Special Interest Group (HoPSIG)
      • Neurodevelopmental Psychiatry Special Interest Group (NDPSIG)
      • Occupational Psychiatry Special Interest Group (OPSIG)
      • Philosophy Special Interest Group 
      • Private and Independent Practice Special Interest Group (PIPSIG)
      • Rainbow Special Interest Group
      • Spirituality and Psychiatry Special Interest Group (SPSIG)
      • Sport and Exercise Psychiatry Special Interest Group (SEPSIG)
      • Transcultural psychiatry Special Interest Group (TSIG)
      • Volunteering and International Psychiatry Special Interest Group (VIPSIG)
      • Women and Mental Health Special Interest Group (WMHSIG)
      • Annual SIG Newsletters
    • Public members list
    • RCPsych Insight magazine
      • RCPsych Insight Cover Art Exhibition
    • Publications and books
    • Members' eNewsletters
    • Posts for members
    • Jobs board
    • Committees of Council
    • President's lectures
      • Declaration of competing interests (President's lectures)
      • List of president's lectures competing interests
      • Past President's lectures
    • Retired members
    • eLearning Hub
    • Obituaries
      • Submit an obituary
      • Remembering Dame Fiona Caldicott
    • Mindmasters quiz
      • Attend Mindmasters 2025
      • Who won in 2024?
      • The rules of the quiz
      • Sample quiz questions 
    • RCPsych ceremonies
      • New Members Ceremonies
      • Fellowship ceremonies
      • Specialist Registration Ceremonies
    • Question Time with the Officers
    • 2024 membership feedback
    • Speciality and Sub-Speciality (SAC/SSAC) Advisory Committees
  • Events

    Events

    • Conferences and training events

      Conferences and training events

      • Register your interest - CESR in Psychiatry Training
      • MHA Section 12 and Approved Clinician Training
      • Subscribe to receive the Events eNews
      • RCPsych Certification Courses
      • Grand Rounds
      • Old Age Faculty Trainees
    • International Congress 2025

      International Congress 2025

      • Exhibition opportunities 2025
      • Poster Presentations 2025
      • Your guide to Congress
      • Registration
      • Programme
    • In-house training

      In-house training

      • Competing interests
    • Free webinars
    • Claiming expenses

      Claiming expenses

      • What can I claim
    • Terms and conditions for event booking
    • Speaker guidance for online events
    • EventsAir FAQs
    • Speaker guidance for in-person events
    • Conferences and training events
      • Register your interest - CESR in Psychiatry Training
      • MHA Section 12 and Approved Clinician Training
      • Subscribe to receive the Events eNews
      • RCPsych Certification Courses
      • Grand Rounds
      • Old Age Faculty Trainees
    • International Congress 2025
      • Exhibition opportunities 2025
      • Poster Presentations 2025
      • Your guide to Congress
      • Registration
      • Programme
    • In-house training
      • Competing interests
    • Free webinars
    • Claiming expenses
      • What can I claim
    • Terms and conditions for event booking
    • Speaker guidance for online events
    • EventsAir FAQs
    • Speaker guidance for in-person 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
      • CCQI research and evaluation
      • Health of Nation Outcome Scales (HoNOS)
    • Campaigning for better mental health policy

      Campaigning for better mental health policy

      • College Reports
      • Position Statements
      • Integrated care and mental health
      • Children and young people's mental health Green Paper
      • Cross-government mental health and wellbeing plan 
      • RCPsych in Parliament
      • Processes for producing College publications, consultations, surveys and endorsements
      • Other policy areas
      • Mental Health Watch
      • Reforming The Mental Health Act
      • The Mental Health Policy Group (MHPG)
      • Preventing mental illness: Our manifesto for the next UK general election
      • The 2024 General Election and our manifesto
      • Assisted dying/assisted suicide
    • Planning the psychiatric workforce

      Planning the psychiatric workforce

      • About our workforce unit
      • 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

      • Partnerships and events  
      • How to work with the Public Mental Health Implementation Centre
      • About the PMHIC
      • PMHIC Aims and objectives
      • Reports
      • About public mental health
      • PMHIC Parliamentary Launch 
      • PMHIC Commercial Determinants of Mental Health (CDoMH) Symposium 
      • PMHIC Parliamentary Roundtable 
      • Smoking and Mental Health in Wales 
      • Public Mental Health Learning Community 
      • Weight management and mental health: A framework for action in Wales
    • National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health (NCCMH)

      National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health (NCCMH)

      • About NCCMH and our work
      • Clinical guideline development
      • Competence frameworks
      • Quality improvement programmes
      • Reviews, evaluations and reports
      • Service design and development
      • Work with us
      • Culture of Care Programme
      • A–Z of NCCMH publications
      • Compassionate and Relational Care Learning Programme
      • Compassionate and Relational Care Learning Programme - Events
      • Compassionate and Relational Care Learning Programme - Who's involved?
    • Act Against Racism

      Act Against Racism

      • Tackling racism in the workplace
      • Adopt the guidance and join our network
      • Act Against Racism: a toolkit to support the campaign
      • If you're experiencing racism at work
      • Allies: information and signposting
      • FAQs about the campaign
      • Act Against Racism campaign films
      • Resources
    • Sustainability and mental health

      Sustainability and mental health

      • Why is sustainability important?
      • Sustainability in your community
      • Sustainability in your practice
      • Sustainability in your trust
      • Sustainability at RCPsych
      • Nature matters
      • Sustainability scholars
      • Sustainability resources
      • College position on sustainability
      • RCPsych at COP26
    • Public Health and its role in mental heath
    • Using quality improvement
    • Net Zero Mental Health Care Guidance and Education

      Net Zero Mental Health Care Guidance and Education

      • Net Zero Mental Health Care Report Launch Event
    • Mental Health Awareness Week
    • Invited Review Service
    • Physician Associate Review

      Physician Associate Review

      • Physician Associate Review Meeting Summaries
    • 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
      • CCQI research and evaluation
      • Health of Nation Outcome Scales (HoNOS)
    • Campaigning for better mental health policy
      • College Reports
      • Position Statements
      • Integrated care and mental health
      • Children and young people's mental health Green Paper
      • Cross-government mental health and wellbeing plan 
      • RCPsych in Parliament
      • Processes for producing College publications, consultations, surveys and endorsements
      • Other policy areas
      • Mental Health Watch
      • Reforming The Mental Health Act
      • The Mental Health Policy Group (MHPG)
      • Preventing mental illness: Our manifesto for the next UK general election
      • The 2024 General Election and our manifesto
      • Assisted dying/assisted suicide
    • Planning the psychiatric workforce
      • About our workforce unit
      • 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
      • Partnerships and events  
      • How to work with the Public Mental Health Implementation Centre
      • About the PMHIC
      • PMHIC Aims and objectives
      • Reports
      • About public mental health
      • PMHIC Parliamentary Launch 
      • PMHIC Commercial Determinants of Mental Health (CDoMH) Symposium 
      • PMHIC Parliamentary Roundtable 
      • Smoking and Mental Health in Wales 
      • Public Mental Health Learning Community 
      • Weight management and mental health: A framework for action in Wales
    • National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health (NCCMH)
      • About NCCMH and our work
      • Clinical guideline development
      • Competence frameworks
      • Quality improvement programmes
      • Reviews, evaluations and reports
      • Service design and development
      • Work with us
      • Culture of Care Programme
      • A–Z of NCCMH publications
      • Compassionate and Relational Care Learning Programme
      • Compassionate and Relational Care Learning Programme - Events
      • Compassionate and Relational Care Learning Programme - Who's involved?
    • Act Against Racism
      • Tackling racism in the workplace
      • Adopt the guidance and join our network
      • Act Against Racism: a toolkit to support the campaign
      • If you're experiencing racism at work
      • Allies: information and signposting
      • FAQs about the campaign
      • Act Against Racism campaign films
      • Resources
    • Sustainability and mental health
      • Why is sustainability important?
      • Sustainability in your community
      • Sustainability in your practice
      • Sustainability in your trust
      • Sustainability at RCPsych
      • Nature matters
      • Sustainability scholars
      • Sustainability resources
      • College position on sustainability
      • RCPsych at COP26
    • Public Health and its role in mental heath
    • Using quality improvement
    • Net Zero Mental Health Care Guidance and Education
      • Net Zero Mental Health Care Report Launch Event
    • Mental Health Awareness Week
    • Invited Review Service
    • Physician Associate Review
      • Physician Associate Review Meeting Summaries
  • Mental health

    Mental health

    • Mental illnesses and mental health problems

      Mental illnesses and mental health problems

      • ADHD in adults
      • Alcohol, mental health and the brain
      • Anorexia and bulimia
      • Anxiety and generalised anxiety disorder (GAD)
      • Autism and mental health
      • Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID)
      • Bereavement
      • Bipolar disorder
      • Cannabis and mental health
      • Catatonia
      • Cocaine dependence
      • Coping after a traumatic event
      • Debt and mental health
      • Delirium
      • Depression
      • Depression in older adults
      • Feeling overwhelmed
      • Gambling disorder
      • Heroin dependence
      • Hoarding
      • Intellectual disabilities
      • Medically unexplained symptoms
      • Memory problems and dementia
      • Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
      • Perinatal OCD
      • Perinatal OCD for carers
      • Personality disorder
      • Physical illness and mental health
      • Postnatal depression
      • Postnatal depression key facts
      • Postnatal depression for carers
      • Postpartum psychosis
      • Postpartum psychosis for carers
      • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) 
      • 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 (in England and Wales)
      • Benefits, financial support and debt advice
      • Benzodiazepines
      • Caring for someone with a mental illness
      • Children's social services and safeguarding
      • Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)
      • Complementary and alternative medicines: herbal remedies
      • Complementary and alternative medicines: physical treatments
      • Long-acting injectable (depot) antipsychotics
      • Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards
      • Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
      • Hypnosis and hypnotherapy
      • 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
      • Mental Health Tribunals
      • Mother and baby units (MBUs)
      • Neuromodulation
      • What are perinatal mental health services?
      • Planning a pregnancy
      • Psychotherapies and psychological treatments
      • Social prescribing
      • Spirituality and mental health
      • Stopping antidepressants
      • What to expect of your psychiatrist in the UK
      • COVID-19: for patients and carers
      • Veterans' mental health
    • Young people's mental health

      Young people's mental health

      • Bipolar disorder for young people
      • Cannabis and mental health for young people
      • Club drugs for young people
      • Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for young people
      • Coping with stress for young people
      • Depression in children and young people
      • Drugs and alcohol for young people
      • Eco distress for young people
      • Physical activity, exercise and mental health for young people
      • OCD for young people
      • Psychosis for young people
      • Schizophrenia for young people
      • When a parent has a mental illness
      • When bad things happen for young people
      • Who is who in CAMHS?
      • Anxiety for young people
      • Weight, exercise and eating disorders for young people
      • Preparing for a blood test or vaccine for young people
      • Use of digital media for young people
    • Translations of our mental health information

      Translations of our mental health information

      • Arabic عربى
      • Bengali বাঙালি
      • Chinese 中文
      • French Français
      • German Deutsch
      • Greek Ελληνική
      • Gujarati ગુજરાતી
      • Hindi हिंदीहिंदी
      • Italian Italiano
      • Japanese 日本語
      • Marathi मराठी
      • Persian (Farsi) فارسی
      • Polish Polski
      • Portuguese (Brazil) Português (Brasil)
      • Punjabi (Pakistan) پنجابی
      • Romanian Română
      • Russian Pусский
      • Sindhi سنڌي
      • Spanish Español
      • Swahili Kiswahili
      • Tamil தமிழ்
      • Telugu తెలుగు
      • Ukrainian украї́нська
      • Urdu اردو
      • Vietnamese Việt
      • Welsh Cymraeg
      • התמודדות לאחר אירוע טראומטי Coping after a traumatic event in Hebrew
      • Mijûlbûna piştî bûyerekê trawmatîk Coping after a traumatic event in Kurdish
      • Travmatik bir olayla başa çıkma Coping after a traumatic event in Turkish
      • စိတ်ထိခိုက်ဖွယ် ဖြစ်ရပ်တစ်ခုကို ရင်ဆိုင်ဖြေရှင်းခြင်း Coping after a traumatic event in Burmese
    • Order mental health leaflets and resources

      Order mental health leaflets and resources

      • Order mental health packs for schools
    • About our mental health information
    • Mental health information disclaimer
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Choose Psychiatry 2022: Have I got what it takes to be a psychiatrist?

Careers in psychiatry, Choose Psychiatry

17 October, 2022

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When I’m teaching medical students one of the common questions they bring up in discussion is whether they have what it takes to become a psychiatrist. They often worry about whether they have the right type of personality and how they might deal with stress and the emotional impact on themselves of looking after people who are often distressed.

In fact, the largest study to date on the career choices of recently qualified doctors found that self-appraisal of own skills was the second most common reason for people rejecting psychiatry as a career1.

So, I asked some colleagues what they felt the most important attributes were for people contemplating a career in psychiatry but were worried about how they might cope.

Professor Vivienne Curtis, Head of School of Psychiatry for London at Health Education England stresses the importance of academic curiosity:

“A key requirement for young psychiatrists is curiosity about all aspects of the person’s life; Curiosity about the causes of their symptoms including the role of biological, psychological and social factors and an ability to understand the risk and benefits of treatments that might be available. It then takes a unique skillset to synthesise this information in a way that can make an importance difference to people’s lives.”

Analytical ability is something that Professor Nandini Chakraborty, lead for national recruitment for psychiatry, also endorses:

“Whilst never forgetting the importance of hard numerical data in research, the ability to fuse multiple perspectives to form a logical conclusion, is a key skill for every psychiatrist.”

It has previously been postulated that Psychiatric trainees may be more naturally suited to thinking about problems using a divergent style of learning where they consider situations using a variety of models in a highly reflective way2.

Simon Rose, Patient Representative on Council at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, describes why this approach is important:

“An ability to understand that science exists against the backdrop of our lives often with exposure to stigma, discrimination, and poverty. The two threads are intertwined. Although medicine and science are important, they are not exclusively so. Arts and social sciences are really important too.”

But we need to be cautious in thinking there is only one ‘type’ of learner suited to psychiatry. The best teams incorporate diverse thinkers who can collaborate to find solutions to complex problems, and in psychiatry that will always involve the patient.

Gary Hodge, mental health nurse and research fellow at the University of Plymouth described that for him:

“The greatest quality of psychiatrists I have worked with is their ability to recognise and utilize the knowledge and skills of those around them.”

And of course, the way we learn and think changes over time based on our experiences. Aspects of our characters can help as well as hinder us in our jobs but can also be modified. For example, whilst attention to detail can make someone a fantastic psychiatrist it can also get in the way when it comes to managing time. Finding a balance is key. And that comes with experience.

Working closely with people who are suffering will invariably bring up issues for ourselves. It’s part of the human condition and no part of medicine is exempt. Vicarious loss and tragedy are inherent in the job of being a doctor whatever specialty you choose. Where psychiatry differs from the rest of medicine though, is by having a sophisticated understanding of the unique psychological factors underlying interactions between doctors and patients and how these may make us feel and behave.

UK Psychiatric training programmes support trainees to understand what is going on in individual therapeutic relationships though weekly Balint groups and one to one supervision. These activities are enshrined in the curriculum and seen as vital ways of learning understanding, compassion, and reflecting on our own vulnerability and resilience. Understanding basic psychodynamic principles such as projection and projective identification can go a long way to understanding people and our emotions in a clinical setting.

Dawn Hy is a Mum who has extensive experience of mental illness within her close family and who has worked tirelessly to make sure others coming after her have less bewildering experiences. She says: “showing you are human too” is one of the most important qualities of a psychiatrist.

Professor Nicolas Procter, Chair of Mental Health Nursing at the University of South Australia gives this advice:

“Be curious, open to, deeply interested in storytelling. ‘Lean-in and listen-in’ respectfully, compassionately entering into a person’s conceptualisation of their story, distress, how they see their troubles and ideal scenario for support. Be aware of your own self experience.”

Being clear about our values i.e., the standards we set for our own behaviour and judgement about what is important is key. These drive our motivation throughout our careers. Every individual will have their own. For me, helping the most vulnerable and marginalised to belong within our communities is a firmly held value alongside values of excellence and doing your very best. Most of us will be able to identify our values and track them back to childhood. For me, being naturally curious about others, combined with a love of communicating in challenging circumstances, has meant that psychiatry has been a very good fit for my personality, skills and values.

But psychiatry is a broad church as Dr Brent Elliott, a neuropsychiatrist and liaison psychiatrist in East London points out. “I would say we need lots of different psychiatrists; people who are good at neuroscience, analysis, computational modelling, pragmatists, those who are politically driven, people who are community oriented, researchers, psychopharmacologists, philosophers and critical psychiatrists to keep us on our toes.”

When a Professor of Psychiatry asked me at the end of my final undergraduate viva in psychiatry “Have you considered a career in psychiatry?” my reply at the time was “I’m not sure I’m cut out to be one.” On reflection, I don’t know why I hesitated. In many respects, it was probably because psychiatry was so different from other parts of medicine that I had spent much more time in as a student.

However, I am confident my younger self would be incredulous to see how much I have learnt, grown, and developed over time. We don’t do that in a vacuum, and I am eternally grateful to my patients and colleagues who have been the very best of teachers over 30 years.

When I look back, I myself had doubts about whether I could emotionally cope with a career in psychiatry.

And I’ve spoken to many colleagues who wondered the same. Being a doctor of any sort means you will face challenges, but I, and other colleagues working in psychiatry, found getting to know our patients, and helping them get better over the long term, made the job enormously emotionally rewarding.

I found I did have the emotional resilience to deal with the challenges which came my way and I think more than likely, if you’re considering a career in psychiatry, you would too.

I am also very happy that I followed the seed of possibility sown in that conversation and ultimately decided to #ChoosePsychiatry.

References

  1. Goldacre, M.J, Fazel, S, Smith, F and Lambert, T (2013) Choice and rejection of psychiatry as a career: surveys of UK medical graduates from 1974 to 2009. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 202, 228–234.
  2. Airey, N., Marriott, J., & Rodd, J. (2001). Learning styles of psychiatrists and other specialists. Psychiatric Bulletin, 25(8), 306-309. doi:10.1192/pb.25.8.306.
Blog Author
Dr Kate Lovett
Dr Kate Lovett

Presidential Lead for Recruitment

Kate is the Presidential Lead for Recruitment.

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