Searching for a Psychiatrist in Singapore?
In Singapore, a psychiatrist is a physician / medically trained doctor who specializes in the field of psychiatry and psychology. A Singapore psychiatrist has to first go through 5 years of medical school. Subsequently, he is trained in medical and surgical disciplines before being selected for specialist psychiatric training. He then undergoes another 5-6 years of specialist training in various psychiatric discipline including general adult psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry, psychogeriatric psychiatry and forensic psychiatry. He has to complete his training and pass several professional examinations before he will be accredited with the Ministry of Health as a Psychiatrist and be allowed to practise independantly.
Who is he?
A psychiatrists is an expert who specialises in assessing, diagonsing and treating psychological conditions and mental disorders. As a physician, a psychiatrist has to evaluate if the symptoms a patient present with is due to psychological reasons only, is the consequence of a medical illness or both. In order to do this, he has to:
1) take a thorough and comprehensive history from the patient and sometimes the patient’s family or friends,
2) conduct a mental state examination through careful observation of the patient’s behaviour, thoughts and emotions during the interview
3) perform a physical examination on the patient to look for possible medical causes.
4) ascertain if blood investigations and / or radiological investigations like CT or MRI brain is necessary to exclude any underlying physical abnormalities.
A Singapore psychiatrist can prescribe medication to treat the condition and the symptoms. Depending on his training, he may also make use of various forms of psychotherapy / talk therapy to help the patients, or refer them to his psychologist colleagues.
Should I see one?
In Singapore, up to 15% of people may experience some form of psychological or emotional distress. Most people who see psychiatrists are simply trying to look for ways to cope with these difficult emotions and feelings. You can seek help from a psychiatrist if you notice the following symptoms:
- Depression and low mood
- Excessive worries and anxiety
- Forgetfulness and poor concentration
- Difficulty coping with stress
- Excessive irritability and anger
- Unusual behaviour in your loved ones
Seeing a psychiatrist is like seeing any other medical doctor and is an easy thing to do. You may be anxious initially but a good psychiatrist is trained to put you at ease and together a comprehensive evaluation can be completed in what seems like a chit chat session.
Where to see one?
If you will like to look for a psychiatrist in Singapore, you can either go to public/ restructured hospitals like the Institute of Mental Health or you can go to a private psychiatric clinic. Singaporeans and permanent residents are entitled to subsidised care in public hospitals but in order to enjoy the subsidised rate, you will need to first get a referral letter from a polyclinic.
If you prefer to see a private psychiatrist, you can call our clinic directly. A referral letter is not necessary unless your insurance company requires you to obtain one from its panel of General Practitioners . Your family doctor or referring specialist may sometimes provide you with a referral letter if you have seen them first. A psychiatric clinic in Singapore is like any other medical specialist clinic. Most clinics go by an appointment system to ensure that you are served timely and do not have to wait in the clinic.
For more information about our clinic you can email info@psywellness.com.sg.
For appointments, you can call us at +65 64796456 and an appointment will provided on the spot.