Psychologist vs Psychiatrist

Very often you will notice that the terms psychologist and psychiatrist are used interchangeably, however, they are significantly different from one another. When people face mental health problems, their starts a debate of psychologist vs psychiatrist. They are confused and do not know whom should they seek help from.

Psychologist vs Psychiatrist
We will make the difference between a psychiatrist and a psychologist based on various parameters. However, before let us first understand the difference between the suffixes '-iatry' and '-ology'. The suffix '-iatry' means medical treatment, while '-ology' means science. Therefore psychology is the science of the psyche, and psychiatry is treating of the psyche.

Education: The first parameter of differentiation is education. A psychologist studies psychology for five to seven years in their under-graduate and graduate years in college. This study usually culminates in a doctoral or a post-doctoral degree. They get either PhD or PsyD degrees on completion of their doctoral studies. A PsyD degree is awarded to those, whose area of study is clinical psychology and who prefer treating patients instead of concentrating on research. Depending on the state they study in, the psychologists need to have either one or two years of internship behind them, before they can apply for a license. The title of a psychologist can be used by a person who has completed his PhD degree and internship. Titles like counselor or therapists are also used by the psychologist, but these titles are used by licensed social workers as well.

Psychiatrists are medical doctors by profession. After the completion of their graduate degree they go on to pursue four years of residency in mental health, usually at the psychiatric department of a hospital. The psychiatric residency includes a range of specialized training in various fields like children and adolescents, drug abuse, etc. On completion of their residency, they obtain a license to practice psychiatry.

Medication: A psychologist uses counseling and psychotherapy to treat patients. They are not authorized to prescribe medication, although psychiatrists can. However, of late there has been an increased demand to authorize psychologists to prescribe medications. In the states of New Mexico and Louisiana, psychologists can prescribe medication after consultation with a psychiatrists.

A psychiatrist on the other hand can use psychotherapy and in addition, can prescribe medicines to a patient. They can also perform Electro-convulsive therapy (ECT). Very often there is a misconception that the psychiatrists treat patients with severe mental illness and the psychologists deal with patients with less severe problems. However, this is not always true, as not all patients who visit a psychiatrist need medication, a psychiatrist conducts psychotherapy as well.

Tests and Tools: Very often it has been noticed that psychologists use many more tests and tools to ascertain the person's psychological health and personality, than psychiatrists. The tests used by psychologists reveal personality disorders and the interconnection between the way the person perceives himself and their behavior.

After reading about difference between a psychiatrist and a psychologist, you might as to ponder as to who is better than the other? It actually depends on your point of view as both are medical jobs that hold equal importance in the dealing of an individual in different aspects. If after conducting a research, psychotherapy, i.e administering tests interests you, then you can think of a career as a psychologist. If you want to be able to prescribe drugs and medication to your patients and medicines excite you, then psychiatry is the field for you. If you are looking at the psychologist vs psychiatrist in terms of money, then visiting a psychiatrist will be way more expensive than visiting a psychologist, unless and until you have severe mental problems and you may require medication to treat the problem.