The public's perception of psychiatrists: a telephone survey

A random telephone survey in the Christchurch toll free area showed: The public generally lacks knowledge about psychiatrists particularly the 60+ age group in their knowledge of whether or not psychiatrists are medical doctors, where they work and what treatments they use; he public's most common association with where psychiatrists work in Christchurch is Sunnyside Hospital, the local public psychiatric hospital and with talking/psychotherapy as a form of treatment they use; and (3) although psychiatrists are perceived negatively compared with family doctors, dentists and lawyers and although people seem reluctant to say a psychiatrist could help them if they had personal problems, nearly half the sample thought there were not enough psychiatrists in New Zealand.