There has been so much talk these days about addiction being taken care of by mental health professionals and some people now wonder if a psychiatrist can really help a person with an addiction.

Dr. David Reiss is a psychiatrist based in San Diego. According to him, “many psychiatrists do treat addictions.” He notes that “there is a sub-specialty of ‘addictionologists’ who primarily deal with addictions,” but essentially all psychiatrists “at least deal with dual diagnosis patients, and will take part in the treatment of the addiction.”

Addiction has the potential to affect the brain’s neurochemistry. If this happens, the addict will have to be cleared off the dangerous substances that can affect the brain. Psychiatrists will play a key role if this has to be done.

Addiction commonly co-occurs with other mental disorders like depression. In such co-occurrences, treatment involves medication and behavioral therapy techniques, but it will never be complete without psychiatric consultation. So if you still wondered if a psychiatrist can really help a person with an addiction, the answer is a resounding “yes.”

Not every psychiatrist will be well suited to fully help in addiction cases though. The American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology provides certification in the subspecialty of addiction psychiatry. Such practitioners are specially trained to deal with cases of addiction.

Addiction psychiatrists generally focus different types of including; alcoholism, drug abuse, gambling, and sex addiction. They will also determine the root cause of drug and alcohol addiction in a patient and if necessary, could prescribe medication to deal with co-existing psychiatric disorders.

While it is certain that a psychiatrist can and will help in treating your addiction, it is important to ensure that the psychiatrist you visit has specialized in addiction. If you would rather go for a general psychiatrist, it would be wise to ensure that they have a wealth of experience dealing with addiction cases. These important aspects you should always take into consideration.