จิตเวชศาสตร์ ประเทศไทย
Thailand Psychiatry
A breif overview of the state of the psychological field in Thailand
The history of modern psychiatry in Thailand began in 1889, when the first “Hospital for the Insane” was opened in Thonburi, which is now a suburb of Bangkok. The name of the hospital has been changed many times over the years, but it is now known as Somdet Chaopraya Hospital which is a psychiatric institute as well as a training center for psychiatric residents, psychiatric nurses, clinical psychologists and social workers.
At present the Department of Mental Health, Ministry of Public Health has 14 psychiatric hospitals or centers serving the whole country of over 60million people. Among these are one child psychiatric hospital, one child guidance center and two hospitals for the mentally retarded.
Psychiatric services in general hospitals are available in 39 government hospitals located throughout Thailand. Eight of them are in the medical colleges, under the administration of the Ministry of University Affair. Twenty-three are in the provincial hospitals of the Ministry of Public Health. Four of them are in the military hospitals, under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defence. Three of them belong to hospitals of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration. There is also a psychiatric unit in the Police Hospital in Bangkok.
As drug abuse continues to be a problem, the Department of Mental Health constantly launches campaigns and mental health education to the public, emphasizing the importance of family relationship and child rearing as preventive measures to minimize drug abuse among school children.
Thailand Psychiatric Organizations
Thailand has two major psychiatric organizations. One is the Psychiatric Association of Thailand which was founded in 1953. The qualification for applying for membership is training or working in psychiatry for at least one year, At present it has 310 members. It has been working as a private organization. The Journal of the Psychiatric Association of Thailand is its official journal published quarterly. This is the largest organization of psychaitrists in Thiland. Psychiatric Association of Thailand
Another major contributor to the progress of psychiatry in Thiland is is the College of Psychiatrists of Thailand that was founded in 1991, and became The Royal College of Psychiatrists of Thailand 4 years later. It is legally attached to the Medical Council and has its function in the academic and ethical aspects. If you are interested in a career in psychiatry, you might want to consider The Royal College of Psychiatrists of Thailand