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psychiatry
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Psychiatric disorders and the stigmas associated with them
Advances in psychiatric research and treatment discussed
Difficulties and advances in diagnosing psychiatric disorders
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psychiatry summary
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psychiatry

medicine
Written by
James W. Lomax
Associate Chairman and Director of Educational Programs, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas.
James W. Lomax
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
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•History

psychiatry, the science and practice of diagnosing, treating, and preventing mental disorders. The term psychiatry is derived from the Greek words psyche, meaning “mind” or “soul,” and iatreia, meaning “healing.” Until the 18th century, mental illness was most often seen as demonic possession, but it gradually came to be considered as a sickness requiring treatment. Many judge that modern psychiatry was born with the efforts of French physician Philippe Pinel in the late 1700s. His...

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