Word parts
What it means
Used for anything about mental illness and its care: psychiatric disorders, a psychiatric unit, psychiatric medicines, a psychiatric nurse. A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in mental health and can prescribe medicine; a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner can also diagnose and prescribe.
Related terms
psych/o
A word root that means mind.
mental illness
A health condition that changes a person's thinking, mood or behavior and causes distress or problems in daily life.
DSM
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: the American Psychiatric Association's book of criteria for mental health diagnoses.