what is the difference-?

[livingwater]

I have been wondering what is the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist?

I am going to a pyschiatrist now- and he is older and very bland -except for when he is asking questions to me...

I would rather confide in a woman and possibly a psychologist-since I have heard so much negative about pychiatrists on this...

I am also wondering how they evaluate my condition- with a questionare and solve this mental mystery of mine.so far, all he does is ask ?s

If anyone can offer any info- I would like 2 know.

Peace Within

[TreePhiend]

A psychiatrist is like a mind doctor. A psychologist is a scientist that does psychological experiments.

[redsmurfettehead]

and there u go

[livingwater]

Oh cool- I thought so.., thankx u guys!

Peace

[7river]

from what i understand a psychiatrist is basically a drug pusher. they will ask you questions to try and figure out what is not working right in your brain...like lack of a chemical to stimulate a mood or prevent depression.
imo, they are very nieve and they do not look at the big picture. their goal is simply to find a drug to make the symptom disappear. to me this is a very temporary fix. not holistic or sustainable. the underlying problem is not addressed which could be emotional trama (new or maybe forced out of memory from childhood), spiritual, cosmic energy, diet...yea go figure...you are what you eat.
b complex and omega 3 + 6 fatty oils are essential brain food to start with.

psychologist is someone who studies human behaviour and how the mind works. in theroy they listen to whats going on when your flipping out or deppressed and are trained to figure out why you are feeling the way you do. this is a shrink. most of them are more fucked up then the patients. but a good one can offer tools to understand whats illing you in the head.

if you are hearing voices or seeing things than that is something these people can not help you with. because if your reality is not text book then it must be your brain thats fucked up...wrong.

there are lots of alternatives to these two choices. careful taking their drugs.
i think we are capable of self-repair and self healing. it is possible to sit quiet in meditation and alow your body/mind to tell you what is wrong, what it needs. maybe sit under the moon, that works for me...full moon coming up.

"We must work in the invisible as much as we work in the visible"

[7river]

disclaimer

above post is all my opinion, maybe a little tension at the way society veiws "disorders" and all the drugs. i know drugs help. but i also know diet is not adressed enough, and meta physics is never considered.
i don't mean to offend anyone.

[rain_in_summer]

I've never been to either of them, but as far as I know there are also psychiatrists who are psychotherapists as well ... so they can do the "talk therapy" thing and give you drugs if necessary. As far as I know, now one can force you to take "brain drugs", so it's your own decision whether you want to.
I would feel very very uncomfortable taking stuff like that, but if you feel it helps you...
Of course, the whole story about ill and not ill is complicated, but in the end it's you who decides whether you go there or not, so why bash psychotherapy?

[kitty fabulous]

ok, i don't post here often but i was surfing around & saw this post & had to comment, because it is something that has affected me so greatly in the past. i'm not trying to offend anyone, imply anything, hijack the thread or get on a soapbox, but this experience has had such an effect on my life that it's really really important to me to say something.


the difference between a psychiatrist and a psychologist is that a psychiatrist is able to prescribe drugs, and a psychologist is not. because they are able to prescribe, they are more likely to, rather than trying other means. in fact i have dealt with some psychiatrists who won't even consider other means. so yes, they often do come across as drug pushers - but that probably depends not only on the psychiatrist, but also the practice: if they're working out of an over-crowded, understaffed clinic they may be pressured to "process" clients by offering quick-fix solutions like drugs to lessent the caseloads of others.

there are pros and cons to the use of psychiatric drugs. apart from serious conditions that interfere with safety of the patient or others, psychiatric drugs are best used as an urgent short-term means of getting a severe problem under control. they are usually not really intended for long-term "maintenance" use, nor have most of them been tested for such use. unfortunately that's how they're often used, however. the most often prescribed psychiatric drugs in this country are for depression. for severe depression that causes a complete functional breakdown or suicidal thoughts, psychiatric drugs can be useful in the short term to get the symptoms under control enough for the patient to begin to address the source of the problem. for mild or moderate depression, drugs are usually not the best option, in fact they can actually interfere with the healing process, as they mask symptoms that are important signals to the real source of the dis-ease.

i promised i wasn't going to get on a soapbox, so i'm not going to get into my opinions on the pressing need for mental health reform so i'll just leave it at this: i spent 10 years being "processed" for anxiety, panic and depression in the mental health mill. i did not even begin to heal until i got off the drugs. i will never get those 10 years back, but i am grateful for the gift of having learned the hard way.

dietary changes can play a significant role in the healing process, but i would say that overall lifestyle changes - including but not limited to diet - were the most significant helper in the healing process for me. i've had good results with taking b-complex vitamins in addition to other changes, but i think that the importance of eating food that is whole, fresh and unprocessed should be stressed as well. i am also a strong believer in the wonderful healing powers of exercise for depression and anxiety. prozac never helped me as much as walking several miles a day, or working out at the Y. for the treatment of mild to moderate depression, no single psychiatric drug has ever been shown in studies to be more effective than regular exercise. but again, often it's the lifestyle that needs to be changed, not just diet or habits.

7 mentioned holism & sustainability. again, i'm trying not to get on a soapbox, but it has been my experience that for the most part the mental health industry is not concerned with either holism or sustainability; very often mental health professionals, unless they have a private practice and can afford to be selective with the clients they take, may have overwhelming caseloads and often clinics are understaffed. they just want to keep things managable; unfortunately this often means not being able to give their clients the best quality care. and yes, many do bring their own issues to the clients' therapy sessions. they're just as human, and therefore just as messed up, as anyone else. it's important to know your rights as a mental health consumer and to consider wisely who you go to for help, and whether or not they're actually helping. you should be able to tell within 3 sessions if they're right to assist you in your healing or not. it's ok to switch shrinks if the one you're seeing isn't helpful.

i do agree however that the subtler aspects of healing are sadly ignored more often than not, and that they are immensely important to the healing process. awareness, energy, spirituality, and planetary consciousness are seldom mentioned by mental health professionals today because these things smack of religion. but i think that ultimately all healing is self-healing, or rather the self allowing the healing process to occur in cooperation with/surrender to god/goddess/gaia/the universe/energy/the force/the great-almighty-Something etc. i think that spirituality in healing needs to be acknowledged & addressed because in order for healing to happen, we have to let go & stop fighting it...and often the drugs prevent this.

[Andy73]

Some psychologists can and do prescribe drugs. This is a relatively recent change in the role of a psychologist, but the psychiatrist is no longer distinguished by the ability to prescribe.

The distinction between the psychiatrist and psychologist is...

A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who has attended medical school.

[dharksky]

Most of my friends are psychology majors, and I got drilled on this every time I made a crack about psychiatrists. Psychiatrists are regular old medical doctors who simply spend a semester or two taking psychology and mental illness classes. The reason that most of them medicate is because they don't completely understand pschology. (Although there are a few people with psychology degrees that go to medical school & become psychiatrists.) Psychologists have a specific degree in psychology, either clinical or experimental. They are NOT allowed to medicate. Only medical doctors are allowed to prescribe prescription drugs. Experimental psychologists do work with doctors handing out drugs, but only in experiment & lab settings. Clinical psychologists work with people in the real world using non-drug therapies. If you would prefer to either not be on drugs at all or use them sparingly and can afford it, I'd recommend seeing a clinical psychologist. Getting a clinical psychologist and a cooperative medical doctor will yield better results. I know this isn't possible for some people because of money/insurance issues (which is another rant) but sometimes there are good-hearted health professionals out there who ARE good at what they do and will help you at a very low cost.