Medical disclaimer

shrinkiatry provides education and professional commentary about the profession of psychiatry. It does not provide medical advice.

The content on this site is for general educational and informational purposes only. It explains how psychiatry is trained, organized, paid, regulated, and practiced. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, and it does not address any individual's specific situation.

Why we draw this line clearly

Psychiatry is a clinical field, and clinical decisions depend on the specifics of one person: their history, their other conditions, their medications, their context. A general-audience site can't know any of that, so anything it said as if it were advice would be guesswork at best and harmful at worst. Drawing a bright line between explaining the profession and advising an individual protects you, and it keeps the writing honest about what it can and can't do.

Reading shrinkiatry does not create a doctor-patient relationship between you and Shariq Refai, MD, MBA, FAPA, shrinkMD, or anyone associated with the site. No content here should be used to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease, or to start, stop, or change any treatment.

What to do instead

Always seek the advice of a licensed clinician who knows your situation with any questions about a medical or mental health condition, and never disregard professional advice or delay seeking it because of something you read here. If you're looking for psychiatric care, shrinkMD is the network's clinical practice. For understanding a specific condition or medication, the network's education sites, Shrinkopedia and PsychiatryRx, go deeper than we do.

If you're in crisis

If you may be in danger or are thinking about suicide, call or text 988 in the US to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, available 24 hours a day. Call 911 if someone is in immediate danger. You can also text HOME to 741741 to reach the Crisis Text Line. If you're outside the US, contact your local emergency number or a local crisis line.

Accuracy and currency

We work to keep content accurate and current, but medicine, regulation, and data change. shrinkiatry makes no warranty that all information is complete or up to date at the moment you read it, and is not liable for decisions made based on the content. When you act on anything you read here, confirm it against a primary source or a qualified professional.