The treatment of psychiatric disorders is a major health field and commercial industry, and staying informed both as a patient and doctor as to the latest resources available is crucial to a better understanding by all. A mental disorder can not only affect the patient, but it also can consume the patient's family and friends. Knowing where to direct those loved ones for more information will help you earn their cooperation level and keep them well informed.

There are a wide range of psychological disorders, and online resources are available on most all of them. You can also find other topics related to psychiatric disorders including grants, associations and publications, all of which try and keep up-to-date information.

To find the right psychology disorders information for you:

1. Determine how technical of psychiatric illness information that you are looking for. Many sites are clinician based, but others are designed with the layperson in mind.

2. Ask yourself if you are looking for career advancement through higher education or networking.

3. Prepare to create a grant proposal.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find general information on psychiatric illness

Find a wide variety of topical information on psychiatric illness and psychiatric assessment tools.

I recommend: Use the Merck Manuals Online Medical Library to find information by disorder. Internet Mental Health is another great source by disorder. Find background information and a listing for over 300 different psychiatric disorders at AllPsych Online. Check out the alphabetical listing of psychiatric disorders from Mental Health Matters.

Use a mental disorder publication

Take advantage of the many mental disorder publications to stay informed on the latest information in the field.

I recommend: Search through the article index of the Psychiatric Times. Read through a variety of topics from the Journal of Anxiety Disorders. Check out the latest issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry. Purchase a subscription to the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal.

Join an association dedicated to those in the field of psychiatric disorders

Whether you study adult or child psychiatric disorders, consider the networking opportunities of an affiliation of people who study psychiatric disorders. Through that you can find psychiatric disorder resources including career exploration, networking opportunities and continuing medical education (CME).

I recommend: Become a member of the American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry. Join the more than 38,000 members of the American Psychiatric Association. The American Psychological Association is another group that you could consider joining. There are also many statewide groups like the Florida Psychiatric Society that are also options for mental health disorder networking.

Find a psychiatric illness grant

Take advantage of the many grant sources available to look for psychiatric illness research funding.

I recommend: Apply for research grants from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Search GrantsAndFunding.net to find a possible grant for your research. Check out grant information from the American Psychiatric Foundation. Grants.gov is a government search engine designed to help you find available grant money.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Joining a networking group can help you professionally obtain the opinion of your colleagues on the many psychiatric disorders that come through your practice. Confer if their opinion matches your own in regards to treatment and assessment.