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. Alabama has 35 practicing geriatric psychiatrists. Broken out by city, geriatric psychiatry doctor density in Albertville is 1, in Anniston is 1, in Birmingham is 15, in Decatur is 2, in Fairhope is 1, in Greenville is 1, in Guntersville is 1, in Huntsville is 5, in Luverne is 1, in Madison is 2, in Mobile is 3, in Montgomery is 1, in Northport is 1, in Selma is 1, and in Tuscaloosa is 5.

Montgomery is the capital city of this southern state, though Birmingham is its largest city. Population in 2005 was 4,557,808. Alabama is the birthplace of historical figures Hank Aaron, Helen Keller, and George Washington Carver. Take an airboat tour on the Mobile river delta, see the Alabama Civil Rights museum in Mantua, or tour the Jazz Hall of Fame in Birmingham. Visit the Shakespeare Festival Theater Complex in Montgomery, or play a round of golf at one of Alabama’s many acclaimed courses. From the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in the state’s north to the Gulf coast beaches in the south, Alabama’s scenery includes a varied and diverse landscape.

According to 2005 Census estimates, Alabama has a population of 4,557,808. Of this population, 1,074,627 are under the age of 18 and 600,258 are at or above the age of 65.