How To Become An Adult Psychiatrist: What It Is and Career Path

What is an adult psychiatrist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Today, more people appreciate the importance of mental health. Hopefully, the stigma on mental illnesses will be gone soon. It is important that people would feel free to consult doctors regarding their mental health. Did you know that psychiatrists can specialize in different areas? One of the most common ones is specializing in an age-specific bucket. Psychiatrists who specialize in adults are called Adult Psychiatrists.

Adult Psychiatrists are professionals who specialize in diagnosing and treating adults. They specialize in assessing the symptoms displayed by adults and providing the correct diagnosis based on consultation sessions, patient history, and even other laboratory tests. Adult psychiatrists are equipped with the knowledge of what signs to look out for in adults, especially for illnesses that were not diagnosed earlier. They also create treatment plans and ensure that the patients follow the regimen.

If you are interested in Psychology and are an advocate of mental health, being a psychiatrist would be great for you. In this career, you need to have a lot of patience and should also be polite and courteous at all times.

ScoreAdult PsychiatristUS Average

Salary

10.0

Avg. Salary $252,704

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

10.0

Growth rate 7%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

1.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.10%

Asian 19.37%

Black or African American 3.95%

Hispanic or Latino 6.17%

Unknown 2.42%

White 67.99%

Gender

female 53.85%

male 46.15%

Age - 48

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 48

Stress level

10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.1

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.5

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an adult psychiatrist

Explore adult psychiatrist education requirements

Most common adult psychiatrist degrees

Certificate

41.9 %

Doctorate

32.3 %

Bachelor's

22.6 %

Start to develop specific adult psychiatrist skills

Skills	Percentages
Mental Health	81.72%
EMR	8.10%
Mental Illness	6.13%
Private Practice	1.63%
Treatment Services	1.29%

Complete relevant adult psychiatrist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New adult psychiatrists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an adult psychiatrist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real adult psychiatrist resumes.

Research adult psychiatrist duties and responsibilities

Research of medical management using motivational interviewing and psychotherapy with Hispanic patients treating depression and anxiety disorders.
Conduct full neurological evaluation, including lab, MRI & /or EEG.

Prepare your adult psychiatrist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your adult psychiatrist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an adult psychiatrist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable adult psychiatrist resume templates

Build a professional adult psychiatrist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your adult psychiatrist resume.