By: Jillian Lach
A Psychiatrist
Psychiatry is known as the study of mental illnesses and behaviors. Over 50 million Americans live with a mental illness every day. These mental illnesses can range from anxiety and depression, to ADHD and schizophrenia. A Psychiatrist focuses on helping people that have mental illnesses like these through therapy and prescriptions. A Psychiatrist, who is a medical doctor, sees patients every day, and will sometimes carry out an evaluation or talk about their problems. Psychiatrists are very important to modern day society, especially as mental illnesses grow more common.
A Psychologist
On the other hand, psychology is known as the study of the mind (cognitive) and behavior (such as social and developmental behaviors). Many people see a Psychologist and interact with talk therapy in order to help with behavior problems, anxiety, or stress. A psychologist also sees patients every day and focuses on helping people overcome stress or mental illnesses through therapy in order for them to cope and get better. Psychologists, similar to Psychiatrists, are also very important to helping those with healthy behavior and a healthy lifestyle.
What are the Differences?
While a psychiatrist and a psychologist are similar, there are some major differences that should be understood and identified between them. While both can treat patients with similar conditions, psychiatrists more commonly treat patients with more intricate disorders while psychologists treat patients that suffer from more behavioral and emotional stemmed problems. The main difference between a psychiatrist and a psychologist is that a psychiatrist can prescribe medications to help treat mental illnesses while a psychologist does not prescribe medications. These medications can consist of antidepressants, mood stabilizers, or anti anxiety medications to help one with their mental illnesses. This leads to the next difference, which is that psychologists focus more on utilizing talk therapy to help communicate with their patients as well as to help their patients cope with their emotions or behavior since they can’t prescribe medications. Additionally, psychiatrists are considered medical doctors that understand the mental and physical connection. They require more training for their job than a Psychologist, for they must have a medical degree, not a doctoral degree. These differences are important to understand, for many people believe that they are the same profession when they are actually different in multiple ways.
Summary
Psychiatrists and Psychologists are very important to the medical world as well as society. Their jobs make a big impact in the world and help many people sort through behaviors and mental illnesses that they may not be able to understand by themselves. It is important to understand the difference between the two and the influence that they have on many people's lives in the modern world.
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