Difference between clinical Psychologist and Psychiatrist

It is common that when we hear about psychology or psychiatry therapies, it is related, or imagines, to a person lying on a couch while spilling all your life before a specialist. This ” Hollywood ” vision is quite far from reality, since this type of therapy goes far beyond this mere fact. In fact, there are a multitude of therapies and medications that are adapted according to the needs of each patient. Similarly, a psychiatric therapy is not the same as a psychological one. So for you to recognize the difference between a psychiatrist and a psychologist, we have compiled the main distinctions and characteristics of each of them.  Difference between clinical Psychologist and Psychiatrist

Psychiatrists are physicians who have specialized in the study of psychiatry and generally have a traditional medical degree or an osteopathic degree. A medical degree generally involves from four years to six years of basic in medical school where a person learns the elementary concepts of medicine, how the human body works, the different types of laboratory tests, and how to diagnose disease.

Education :

Then psychiatrists usually complete another three or four years of specialization, studying more specifically on mental illnesses, medications, and various techniques of psychotherapy. This period includes residency in the hospital area and classroom instruction, as well as intensive hands-on training in a hospital or other facility that regularly cares for and treats people with mental illness.

Psychiatrists technically do not have all the preparation and training necessary to give all psychological therapies as psychologists do. Its treatment is not based on teaching patients how strategies and techniques to overcome their emotional or behavioral problems, but is designed to treat the physiological problems they face.

Because psychiatrists are a kind of doctor, they can prescribe and administer psychiatric medications. In fact, most modern psychiatric practices worldwide focus solely on the prescription of psychiatric medications; very few psychiatrists practice psychotherapy any longer, except for psychoanalysts. Psychiatrists are one of the lowest paid doctors compared to psychologists. 

Psychiatrists like psychologists can further specialize in a specific type of disorder or population they treat, such as children, women, or just treating people with depression.

Main difference between a Psychologist and a Psychiatrist :

The main difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist is that a psychiatrist is a doctor who can prescribe medication, whereas a psychologist is not and instead offers some kind of evaluation and psychotherapy. 

Psychologists focus on treating mental illness through therapies and other techniques, while psychiatrists focus on treatment through medications. Often times, primary care physicians or psychologists refer patients to psychiatrists to make sure they are taking the correct medication and the correct dose. 

Research has shown time and again that for most disorders, these two terms work best, namely psychotherapy and medications. For that reason, instead of these two professions competing with each other, they actually complement each other very well, as in many cases, a person being treated for a mental illness would go to see both.  Difference between clinical Psychologist and Psychiatrist

Psychologists and psychiatrists also approach mental illness from very different paradigms. Psychologists are trained from a scientific model based on more than a century of research in different techniques of psychotherapy, psychological theories, and theories of personality. Psychiatrists are trained from a medical model that emphasizes medical and biological knowledge over psychological theory.

In summary, the difference between each of these terms is that psychiatrists and psychologists can practice psychotherapy, but only psychiatrists, like any doctor, can prescribe medications such as antidepressants or anxiolytics.