Science / Medicine : Demand for Psychiatrists Growing

The number of psychiatrists will not grow as fast as the demand for their services, and more doctors will develop specialties such as addictions therapy or geriatrics counseling, a report on psychiatry’s future says. The number of psychiatrists is expected to increase 14% between 1985 and 2000, while demand for psychiatric care is expected to grow by 19.1%, according to a report published last week in the Journal of the American Medical Assn.

The projected 14% increase in the number of psychiatrists compares with a 24% projected increase in physicians overall, the report said.

Those figures may be a signal that medical students are shying away from a field that pays less than other medical specializations, said Dr. Melvin Sabshin, medical director of the American Psychiatric Assn.

In 1985, Americans made 27.8 million visits to psychiatrists, said the APA’s Thomas M. Gorey. Researchers project that number to grow to about 33.2 million in 2000.