Geriatric psychiatry

Geriatric psychiatry, also known as geropsychiatry, psychogeriatrics or psychiatry of old age, is a subspecialty of psychiatry dealing with the study, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders in humans with old age. After a 4-year residency in psychiatry, a psychiatrist can complete a one-year fellowship in geriatric psychiatry. As the population ages, particularly in developing countries, this field is becoming more needed. The diagnosis, treatment and management of dementia and depression are two areas of this field.

The American Association For Geriatric Psychiatry is the national organization representing health care providers specializing in late life mental disorders. The International Psychogeriatric Association is an international community of scientists and healthcare geriatric professionals working for mental health in aging.International Psychogeriatrics is the official journal of the International Psychogeriatric Association. Many fellowships in geriatric psychiatry exist.The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry is the official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry (AAGP). The American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and the American Osteopathic Board of Neurology and Psychiatry both issue a board certification in geriatric psychiatry. Geriatric psychiatry is an official subspeciality in psychiatry with a defined curriculum of study and core competencies.

The geropsychiatric unit, the term for a hospital-based geriatric psychiatry program, was introduced in 1984 by Norman White MD, when he opened New England's first specialized program of this sort at a community hospital in Rochester, New Hampshire. White is a pioneer in geriatric psychiatry, being among the first psychiatrists nationally to achieve board certification in the field. The prefix psycho- had been proposed for the geriatric program, but White, knowing New Englanders' aversion to anything psycho- lobbied successfully for the name geropsychiatric rather than psychogeriatrics.

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