Psychiatry deals with prevention, assessment, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of mental illness. A psychiatrist diagnoses and treats those with mental and emotional disorders such as schizophrenia, addictions, mood and anxiety disorders, substance-abuse disorders, and sexual and adjustment disorders. After assessment, the psychiatrist can diagnose, treat and manage an illness or problem by medication or various forms of psychotherapy. A psychiatrist is qualified to order diagnostic laboratory tests and to prescribe medications, evaluate and treat psychologic and interpersonal problems, and to intervene with families who are coping with stress, crises and other problems.

Physicians in this specialty treat patients suffering from numerous diseases and illnesses, but some of the most common are attention deficit hyperactive, learning disabilities, co-dependency, attention deficit disorder, clinical depression, eating disorders, anxiety disorders, phobias, mania, schizophrenia, claustrophobia, paranoia, agoraphobia, psychosis, social anxiety disorder, hallucination, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, and panic attacks.

Once properly diagnosed, practitioners can perform numerous procedures on patients including marital therapy, marital counseling, adolescent counseling, child counseling, stress management, hypnosis, family therapy, shock treatment, relaxation therapy, electroconvulsive therapy, and psychiatric therapy.

To diagnose patients with possible illnesses and diseases, specialists will often perform one of many tests including psychiatric evaluation, intelligence tests, personality tests, add/adhd tests, depression tests, stress tests, abuse tests, psychiatric exam, sexual health tests, and addictions tests.

Doctor density varies by specialty and location. Florida has 1,412 practicing psychiatrists. Broken out by city, psychiatry doctor density in Altamonte Springs is 7, in Aventura is 6, in Bartow is 4, in Boca Raton is 42, in Bonita Springs is 4, in Boynton Beach is 14, in Bradenton is 22, in Brooksville is 4, in Cape Coral is 8, in Clearwater is 22, in Clermont is 5, in Cocoa Beach is 1, in Coconut Creek is 2, in Coral Gables is 38, in Coral Springs is 14, in Crystal River is 5, in Davie is 5, in Daytona Beach is 18, in Delray Beach is 14, in Deltona is 2, in Dunedin is 3, in Fort Lauderdale is 53, in Fort Myers is 36, in Fort Pierce is 13, in Fort Walton Beach is 13, in Gainesville is 88, in Gulf Breeze is 2, in Havana is 1, in Hialeah is 32, in Hollywood is 28, in Homestead is 1, in Jacksonville is 92, in Jacksonville Beach is 8, in Jupiter is 5, in Key West is 4, in Kissimmee is 9, in Lake City is 2, in Lake Mary is 4, in Lake Worth is 4, in Lakeland is 18, in Largo is 13, in Lauderdale Lakes is 2, in Lauderhill is 1, in Leesburg is 6, in Longwood is 8, in Lynn Haven is 1, in Maitland is 5, in Marathon is 2, in Margate is 1, in Melbourne is 28, in Miami is 194, in Miami Beach is 23, in Milton is 4, in Naples is 29, in Neptune Beach is 2, in New Port Richey is 15, in North Miami is 12, in North Miami Beach is 13, in Oakland Park is 1, in Ocala is 23, in Ocoee is 1, in Orange City is 4, in Orange Park is 8, in Orlando is 57, in Ormond Beach is 5, in Palatka is 8, in Palm Bay is 10, in Palm Beach is 3, in Palm Beach Gardens is 13, in Palm Coast is 2, in Panama City is 12, in Pembroke Pines is 17, in Pensacola is 30, in Pinellas Park is 3, in Plantation is 14, in Pompano Beach is 10, in Port Richey is 1, in Punta Gorda is 5, in Quincy is 2, in Riviera Beach is 4, in Rockledge is 3, in Sanford is 4, in Sarasota is 31, in Satellite Beach is 3, in Sebring is 5, in South Miami is 16, in Stuart is 7, in Sunrise is 1, in Tallahassee is 24, in Tamarac is 9, in Tampa is 97, in Tarpon Springs is 1, in Tavares is 5, in Titusville is 2, in Venice is 6, in Vero Beach is 10, in Wauchula is 1, in West Palm Beach is 46, in Weston is 9, and in Winter Park is 14.

Florida’s warm and humid subtropical climate makes it a winter destination for many. Population in 2000 was 15,982,378, according to census statistics. Tallahassee, located in the north panhandle area, is the state capital. Tourism is a major industry in Florida, with Cape Canaveral, Disney World, the Everglades National Park, Universal Studios, the Atlantic coast and the Gulf coast all destinations for visitors and residents. Year-round outdoor activities include camping, golf, scuba diving, snorkeling, fishing and boating.

According to 2005 Census estimates, Florida has a population of 17,789,864. Of this population, 3,975,071 are under the age of 18 and 2,978,335 are at or above the age of 65.