The People Seen by Sydney Psychiatrists

Abstract

A one-in-six sample of psychiatrists practising in Sydney was asked to provide details of patients seen in the previous five working days. The averaged workload of the 49 psychiatrists showed that they spent a third of their time with patients with psychotic illnesses, a third with patients with neurotic conditions and most of the remainder on patients troubled by personality disorders. Sixty-one per cent of the patients were female and the median age of the patients was 39 years. Psychotherapy was the most commonly used primary treatment for the neuroses and personality disorders, but drugs were used most frequently for the psychoses.