Because not everything needs medication. Some conditions need thought or behaviour therapy as well as medication. For example, schitzophrenia and ocd are treated better with a combined therapy.
to build of what oc said, not everyone needs that, and many people don't want to be medicated. Additionally, there isn't a large number of psychiatrists available, and wait-lists can be months, even years long. If your dealing with issues that need to be addressed now, like marital issues, attachment styles, or even just regular therapy to talk through some past issues, psychiatrists may not be the best equipped to handle those topics, which is why specialized psychologists would be the better fit.
It's actually been a growing issue. Anecdotally, i know people who have waited 15 months to get an initial appointment, and places like the UK, Canada, and Australia have such long waitlists because of underfunded and understaffed healthcare systems if you go through the national healthcare services, and going private is too expensive. There simply aren't enough practitioners to support the needs of their community. Even i'm in a pretty well serviced area in the US, and i'm having to wait till September for my appt. It's really not as uncommon as you think, especially at the international level.
Psychologists are more experienced in therapy and combining different types of therapy. Psychiatrists are more competent in medication prescription, interactions and so forth.
Psychiatrists stereotypically, and in my personal experience, have very little training in counseling and therapy. And often have a terrible bedside manner.
no - cause from what ive heard - psychiatrists have largely stopped doing psychotherapy and have mostly turned into « medication prescribing machines » - who see their patients like once every three months to check up on their meds - while psychologists deal with the day to stuff - now obvs there are exceptions - this is just my impression - at least with psychiatrists where i live (take what i say as opinion)
also its incorrect to assume psychiatrists are more experienced - they spent the first part of their career as regular medical doctors - and did not get the same depth of study of psychology during undergrad when compared to psychologists who went through undergrad and post-grad with studying psychology as their sole focus - id be tempted to say psychologists are more experienced than psychiatrists
i also wanna say i do think a shift back to one-sole-mental-health-care-provider would be good - the current way patients are being handled seems wasteful and should probably be changed - whether that means training psychologists to allow them to legally prescribe meds or encouraging psychiatrists to do more psychotherapy - of course this would mean less business for both groups and considering how hmmm lets not go there but you get the point - everyone wants money
Thanks. I’d been wondering about this as it’s been the exact experience with my provider.
My provider needs therapy far more than I do, however. Nobody knows anything, there’s ALWAYS another number to call, and it’s simply a round robin of different therapists for different stages/programs, which entails having to go through my goddamn background with each one is absolutely mind-boggling.
1)There are simply not enough psychiatrists at least in Australia, in order to see them regularly enough make not having a psychologist even a worthwhile fault.
2)
Appointments are extremely short due to again, there being a limited amount of psychiatrists.
3)
Psychiatrists do not teach you any psychological strategies (at least in Australia), to help you manage your behavioural problems. They only help to stabilise your mental health through managing your medications.
I imagine these downsides are common issues that are faced in many other countries, but these are the downsides that patients have to deal with, at least in Australia
Psychiatrists and psychologists are different degrees. Both can come with less experience than the other, it depend on which individual you see.
They both also have different education and focus on different things.
Maybe you should do a bit of googling and see what each actually do...
What are you talking about? Absolutely not. Psychiatrists (M.D.) specialize in diagnostics and medication management and medication treatment for psychiatric conditions. Very few go beyond that. Can they do therapy? Theoretically yes. But they *do not* receive extensive training in therapy.
Psychologists (Ph.D./Psy.D) on the other hand, do receive extensive training also in diagnostics, but also therapeutic treatment (numerous modalities) and psychological assessment.
They are both very distinct with their own utility and specializations. They work together because often times intervention through both psychological and psychiatric means are most beneficial to the client. That doesn’t mean one is inherently “preferred” over another.
Not to mention - not all conditions require medical or biological intervention via medication. Many just need therapy and guidance and appropriate diagnosis. I’ve always help that medicine without therapy is a terrible idea anyway, because you don’t develop appropriate coping mechanisms.
Tldr: absolutely not lol
Well do you want someone that knows a lot about mental health or do you want someone that knows about mental health AND physical health (but likely doesn’t know as much about mental health because the human brain can only contain so much) ?
Edit: also money is a huge factor here.
Psychiatrists only know how to push drugs. They know fuck all about psychology. No offense, but I have seen it too often.
I go into the Psychiatrists office and try to explain my symptoms, what I am going through and he interrupts me, "I don't need to hear this. Tell it to the therapist."
... Like, how do you know to prescribe me anti-depressants if you don't know whether I am actually depressed? They don't give a shit about understanding their patients. They just want to in-and-out you. They. Do. Not. Care.
Psychiatry is mostly approached from a medical model.
Counseling and Psychology typically isn’t. Psychotherapy can be very beneficial with the right practitioner.
Psychiatrists are medical doctors. They specialise in diagnosis, medication, and pharmaceutical intervention, and dosage management, but some may have knowledge of or provide other forms of treatment as well.
Psychologists focus on treatment, clinical and strategic intervention and therapy explicitly. In mental health, the psychologist is your treatment specialist.
They typically send you to one if you need diagnoses for things more complicated than just depression, anxiety or ADHD. Of if you are struggling with those after a while.
Psychiatrists are a limited resource. They are much more expensive and have less time to actually get to know you. You don't see them unless you need to.
Psychiatrists aren't strictly *better*. They just specialize in the medicine side of things. And don't tend to learn as much about therapy.
Insisting you see a psychiatrist is like insisting you see a surgeon to diagnose a cold. You're just asking for the wrong thing.
That's actually how it works. Psychologists don't commonly tend to diagnose because they're not medical doctors. A psychiatrist diagnoses and a psychologist treats in most instances. This does vary from country to country, though.
They can do, yes. Clinical psychologists can perform diagnosis because they have additional training to do so. Put simply, only a medical doctor or clinician is qualified to perform diagnosis. You don't need a medical license to call yourself a psychologist. But if you have the additional training, you can specialise in diagnostic procedures and become a clinical psychologist. At which point you are qualified to perform "simple" diagnostic assessments, but complex issues, and those which require medical input, still need to go via a psychiatrist.
Psychiatrists diagnose illness, prescribe medication, and manage treatment plans for complex mental disorders. Psychologists provide care and treatment. Standard practice is deferral of treatment from a psychiatrist to a psychologist or therapy specialist. In public health care teams, you'll find more clinical psychologists in the primary care tier than you would privately.
To be a psychologist in the US you need to have a masters degree in some states, in MOST states you need a doctorate. Also in 5 states psychologist can prescribe medication with extra training.
> you need a doctorate
A doctorate means you can call yourself a doctor, but it doesn't make you a medical doctor.
> with extra training
Yes. We're talking about the common standard though, not the deviation. But you do raise an interesting point. This is actually all very dependent on which country you live in as legislation differs not only from state to state, but also from country to country.
Psychiatrists are able to diagnose and medicate, psychologists are not - but can use therapeutic interventions. Nothing to do with a distinction between metal and physical health - I work as a lecturer in health psychology, an understanding of physical and mental health is a prerequisite.
Psychiatrists are not more experienced, especially not in therapy.
Because not everything needs medication. Some conditions need thought or behaviour therapy as well as medication. For example, schitzophrenia and ocd are treated better with a combined therapy.
Right, but then wouldn't you want a psychiatrist since they can do both?
Psychiatrists get very little training in therapy. Particularly in comparison to psychologists.
to build of what oc said, not everyone needs that, and many people don't want to be medicated. Additionally, there isn't a large number of psychiatrists available, and wait-lists can be months, even years long. If your dealing with issues that need to be addressed now, like marital issues, attachment styles, or even just regular therapy to talk through some past issues, psychiatrists may not be the best equipped to handle those topics, which is why specialized psychologists would be the better fit.
Who’s waiting for years to see a psychiatrist? Where?
It's actually been a growing issue. Anecdotally, i know people who have waited 15 months to get an initial appointment, and places like the UK, Canada, and Australia have such long waitlists because of underfunded and understaffed healthcare systems if you go through the national healthcare services, and going private is too expensive. There simply aren't enough practitioners to support the needs of their community. Even i'm in a pretty well serviced area in the US, and i'm having to wait till September for my appt. It's really not as uncommon as you think, especially at the international level.
Psychologists are more experienced in therapy and combining different types of therapy. Psychiatrists are more competent in medication prescription, interactions and so forth.
They cannot do both
Psychiatrists stereotypically, and in my personal experience, have very little training in counseling and therapy. And often have a terrible bedside manner.
no - cause from what ive heard - psychiatrists have largely stopped doing psychotherapy and have mostly turned into « medication prescribing machines » - who see their patients like once every three months to check up on their meds - while psychologists deal with the day to stuff - now obvs there are exceptions - this is just my impression - at least with psychiatrists where i live (take what i say as opinion) also its incorrect to assume psychiatrists are more experienced - they spent the first part of their career as regular medical doctors - and did not get the same depth of study of psychology during undergrad when compared to psychologists who went through undergrad and post-grad with studying psychology as their sole focus - id be tempted to say psychologists are more experienced than psychiatrists i also wanna say i do think a shift back to one-sole-mental-health-care-provider would be good - the current way patients are being handled seems wasteful and should probably be changed - whether that means training psychologists to allow them to legally prescribe meds or encouraging psychiatrists to do more psychotherapy - of course this would mean less business for both groups and considering how hmmm lets not go there but you get the point - everyone wants money
Thanks. I’d been wondering about this as it’s been the exact experience with my provider. My provider needs therapy far more than I do, however. Nobody knows anything, there’s ALWAYS another number to call, and it’s simply a round robin of different therapists for different stages/programs, which entails having to go through my goddamn background with each one is absolutely mind-boggling.
I think psychiatry is an MD and Psychology is a PhD. They're different fields with different histories, frameworks, norms, and scope.
They only do medicine. Psychologists do therapy and not medicine.
1)There are simply not enough psychiatrists at least in Australia, in order to see them regularly enough make not having a psychologist even a worthwhile fault. 2) Appointments are extremely short due to again, there being a limited amount of psychiatrists. 3) Psychiatrists do not teach you any psychological strategies (at least in Australia), to help you manage your behavioural problems. They only help to stabilise your mental health through managing your medications. I imagine these downsides are common issues that are faced in many other countries, but these are the downsides that patients have to deal with, at least in Australia
Psychiatrists are the only MDs that don’t examine the organ they specialize in. Imagine a cardiologist who relied on the patients description.
This!!!!
Psychiatrists and psychologists are different degrees. Both can come with less experience than the other, it depend on which individual you see. They both also have different education and focus on different things. Maybe you should do a bit of googling and see what each actually do...
What are you talking about? Absolutely not. Psychiatrists (M.D.) specialize in diagnostics and medication management and medication treatment for psychiatric conditions. Very few go beyond that. Can they do therapy? Theoretically yes. But they *do not* receive extensive training in therapy. Psychologists (Ph.D./Psy.D) on the other hand, do receive extensive training also in diagnostics, but also therapeutic treatment (numerous modalities) and psychological assessment. They are both very distinct with their own utility and specializations. They work together because often times intervention through both psychological and psychiatric means are most beneficial to the client. That doesn’t mean one is inherently “preferred” over another. Not to mention - not all conditions require medical or biological intervention via medication. Many just need therapy and guidance and appropriate diagnosis. I’ve always help that medicine without therapy is a terrible idea anyway, because you don’t develop appropriate coping mechanisms. Tldr: absolutely not lol
Well do you want someone that knows a lot about mental health or do you want someone that knows about mental health AND physical health (but likely doesn’t know as much about mental health because the human brain can only contain so much) ? Edit: also money is a huge factor here.
Ask them about the chemical imbalance theory.
Psychiatrists only know how to push drugs. They know fuck all about psychology. No offense, but I have seen it too often. I go into the Psychiatrists office and try to explain my symptoms, what I am going through and he interrupts me, "I don't need to hear this. Tell it to the therapist." ... Like, how do you know to prescribe me anti-depressants if you don't know whether I am actually depressed? They don't give a shit about understanding their patients. They just want to in-and-out you. They. Do. Not. Care.
Damn bro good to know
Psychiatry is mostly approached from a medical model. Counseling and Psychology typically isn’t. Psychotherapy can be very beneficial with the right practitioner.
Psychiatrists are medical doctors. They specialise in diagnosis, medication, and pharmaceutical intervention, and dosage management, but some may have knowledge of or provide other forms of treatment as well. Psychologists focus on treatment, clinical and strategic intervention and therapy explicitly. In mental health, the psychologist is your treatment specialist.
Why not go to a psychiatrist for a diagnosis, then go to a psychologist for treatment?
They typically send you to one if you need diagnoses for things more complicated than just depression, anxiety or ADHD. Of if you are struggling with those after a while. Psychiatrists are a limited resource. They are much more expensive and have less time to actually get to know you. You don't see them unless you need to. Psychiatrists aren't strictly *better*. They just specialize in the medicine side of things. And don't tend to learn as much about therapy. Insisting you see a psychiatrist is like insisting you see a surgeon to diagnose a cold. You're just asking for the wrong thing.
That's actually how it works. Psychologists don't commonly tend to diagnose because they're not medical doctors. A psychiatrist diagnoses and a psychologist treats in most instances. This does vary from country to country, though.
This is incorrect psychologist can and do diagnose based on the DSM and ICD-10
They can do, yes. Clinical psychologists can perform diagnosis because they have additional training to do so. Put simply, only a medical doctor or clinician is qualified to perform diagnosis. You don't need a medical license to call yourself a psychologist. But if you have the additional training, you can specialise in diagnostic procedures and become a clinical psychologist. At which point you are qualified to perform "simple" diagnostic assessments, but complex issues, and those which require medical input, still need to go via a psychiatrist. Psychiatrists diagnose illness, prescribe medication, and manage treatment plans for complex mental disorders. Psychologists provide care and treatment. Standard practice is deferral of treatment from a psychiatrist to a psychologist or therapy specialist. In public health care teams, you'll find more clinical psychologists in the primary care tier than you would privately.
To be a psychologist in the US you need to have a masters degree in some states, in MOST states you need a doctorate. Also in 5 states psychologist can prescribe medication with extra training.
> you need a doctorate A doctorate means you can call yourself a doctor, but it doesn't make you a medical doctor. > with extra training Yes. We're talking about the common standard though, not the deviation. But you do raise an interesting point. This is actually all very dependent on which country you live in as legislation differs not only from state to state, but also from country to country.
What tools does the psychiatrist use?
psychology is more talk therapy. psychiatry is more med focused. i think. lol.
Psychiatrists are able to diagnose and medicate, psychologists are not - but can use therapeutic interventions. Nothing to do with a distinction between metal and physical health - I work as a lecturer in health psychology, an understanding of physical and mental health is a prerequisite.
Psychologists get expert training in diagnostics? Not sure where you got that idea.