In plain English
Psychiatry is a physician residency, and that is the practical distinction from the rest of behavioural health. Psychologists, counsellors and clinical social workers assess and provide therapy; psychiatrists are the group whose training is medical and whose prescribing follows from a medical licence. Psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioners also prescribe, under nursing law.
On the public record psychiatry shares a classification with neurology, so a count of the classification covers both. Child and adolescent psychiatry, addiction psychiatry, geriatric psychiatry and forensic psychiatry have codes of their own.
Psychiatry has more independent and self-pay practice than most physician specialties, and a large telehealth population, so a practice address here is a weaker signal of where the work happens than it would be in surgery.
Training and credentials
Medical school, a four-year psychiatry residency and board certification; sub-specialists add a fellowship of one or two years.
Where they practise
Community mental health centres, hospital psychiatric units, independent practice, integrated primary care, telehealth groups, correctional and veterans' facilities.
Psychiatrists on the public record
Counted from what providers file about themselves, with suppression applied before anything is counted, refreshed 2026-10-05. Names, specialties and practice locations are public; work email and phone are for signed-in customers.
| State | On record | With work email | With practice phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 10,514 | 8,589 82% | 10,514 |
| New York | 7,616 | 6,489 85% | 7,616 |
| Texas | 4,517 | 3,273 72% | 4,517 |
| Florida | 4,069 | 2,698 66% | 4,069 |
| Pennsylvania | 3,242 | 2,616 81% | 3,242 |
| Massachusetts | 3,112 | 2,694 87% | 3,112 |
| Illinois | 2,857 | 2,077 73% | 2,856 |
| North Carolina | 2,442 | 1,709 70% | 2,442 |
Closely related, and where to find them.
Closely related
- Psychologist The doctoral behavioural health profession, and the one that does formal assessment.
- Clinical social worker Therapy and the practical circumstances around it - and a very large licensed population.
- Licensed counselor One classification, a dozen state titles - and why this entry stops where it does.
- Neurologist Brain, spine and nerve medicine - filed on the record beside psychiatry.
Find them
- Psychiatrists list counts by state, the fields a record carries, a sample record.
- Mental health psychologists, counsellors and clinical social workers, with psychiatrists counted separately as a physician specialty.
Need the list, not the definition?
A free account builds this population with your own filters and shows what each record carries before anything is bought.