Geriatric psychiatry deals with the problems of mental and emotional disorders and diseases in the elderly. A geriatric psychiatrist has expertise in the diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of mental and emotional disorders of older people. The psychiatrist’s extensive medical training allows him or her to understand the relationship between emotional illness and medical illnesses. The psychiatrist is the physician best qualified to determine the physical and/or psychological causes of both mental and physical disorders.

Doctor density varies by specialty and location. The United States has 2,195 practicing geriatric psychiatrists. Broken out by state, geriatric psychiatry doctor density in Alabama is 27, in Alaska is 2, in Arizona is 33, in Arkansas is 18, in California is 280, in Colorado is 22, in Connecticut is 55, in Delaware is 2, in District of Columbia is 15, in Florida is 144, in Georgia is 49, in Hawaii is 9, in Idaho is 2, in Illinois is 77, in Indiana is 44, in Iowa is 14, in Kansas is 20, in Kentucky is 30, in Louisiana is 23, in Maine is 18, in Maryland is 62, in Massachusetts is 122, in Michigan is 74, in Minnesota is 37, in Mississippi is 14, in Missouri is 59, in Montana is 1, in Nebraska is 11, in Nevada is 10, in New Hampshire is 30, in New Jersey is 84, in New Mexico is 14, in New York is 266, in North Carolina is 58, in North Dakota is 2, in Ohio is 86, in Oklahoma is 23, in Oregon is 21, in Pennsylvania is 168, in Rhode Island is 22, in South Carolina is 24, in South Dakota is 1, in Tennessee is 50, in Texas is 112, in Utah is 7, in Vermont is 5, in Virginia is 62, in Washington is 42, in West Virginia is 10, and in Wisconsin is 34.