Most services that care for people with eating disorders bring together a team of health-care professionals that includes doctors (such as psychiatrists), clinical dietitians and psychologists.
Ideally, each team member will have special knowledge, skills and experience in eating disorders.
Each has a different kind of expertise, and together they can help you work through your treatment plan to get well.
Treatment and care of Indigenous people with eating disorders should be culturally informed. If you are Māori or Aboriginal and/or a Torres Strait Islander, consider asking your health-care team to work with a cultural advisor or Indigenous health worker (e.g. Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander health worker or Māori health worker).
Psychiatrists: their role in treating eating disorders
Many people who are treated for eating disorders will see a psychiatrist during their treatment.
Psychiatrists are medical doctors who are experts in mental health. To become a psychiatrist in Australia or New Zealand, a doctor must train for at least another 6 years after finishing medical school. Psychiatrists often lead a health care team.
Some psychiatrists completely specialise in the care of people with eating disorders.
Because they are doctors, they can prescribe medication, develop treatment plans and monitor physical health. They can also provide psychological treatment.
More about psychiatrists