Mental Health
Welcome to your Mental Health Pillar. Psychiatry is the branch of medicine that relates to identifying and treating mental illness. About 1 in 4 of us will experience difficulties with our mental health at some point in our lives. Most people make a full recovery through self care and support from friends and family. Some will need input from the community and voluntary sector and their GP. Others will have more complex and recurrent difficulties and may require input from mental health services. Mental health and physical health should never be viewed in isolation, and frequently there is a bidirectional impact which needs to be considered to achieve the best outcome. People are complex and fascinating, and here you will have the opportunity to delve deeper than you have so far in your undergraduate training.
Throughout your pillar week and clinical weeks, you will develop your knowledge of common mental disorders and refine your clinical skills in observation, history taking and mental state examination. You will improve your understanding of the vital importance of working in a multidisciplinary and integrated biopsychosocial way.