The Department of Psychiatry at St.Philomena's Hospital has the reputation of having one of the best departments of Psychiatry in Bangalore. Psychiatry is a medical specialty which exists to study, prevent, and treat mental disorders in humans and acquiring and disseminating new scientific knowledge pertinent to the causes and treatments of severe neuropsychiatry disorders and to serving as a model of exemplary mental health care for students and society. Psychiatric assessment typically involves a mental status examination and taking a case history, and psychological tests may be administered. Physical examinations may be conducted and occasionally neuroimages or other neurophysiological measurements taken.

Psychiatric medication is a central treatment option, which is largely unique to psychiatry along with rarer procedures such as Electroconvulsive therapy. Psychotherapy is also a treatment option in psychiatry, although it is also the speciality of other mental health professions. Psychiatric services may be provided on an inpatient or outpatient basis. In certain authorized cases this may be done on an involuntary basis. Both the research and clinical application of psychiatry are considered interdisciplinary. Because of this, various subspecialties and theoretical approaches exist. Psychiatrists can be considered physicians who specialize in the doctor-patient relationship utilizing some of medicine's newest classification schemes, diagnostic tools and treatments.

St.Philomena's Department of Psychiatry's teaching and research efforts further advance the body of knowledge in neurochemistry, genetics, psychopharmacology and brain imaging, as well as in social and behavioral therapies.