Quick Answer: Yes, there’s a difference between a psychiatrist and a psychologist. Differences revolve around the type of training they receive and the type of support they offer.
Basic Facts:
- Psychiatrists are medical doctors (MDs) and can prescribe medication.
- Psychologists have a doctoral degree (PhD) and/or a master’s degree (MS/MA)
- Psychiatrists often focus on medication management, and sessions can be short – around 15-20 minutes
- Psychologists often focus on psychotherapy, and sessions can be longer – typically between 45-60 minutes or more.
Choosing Between a Psychiatrist and a Psychologist: What Do You Want, What Do You Need?
In this article, we’ll review the similarities and differences between these two types of mental health providers. And here’s a secret: this is often one of the first things people want clarified when they get diagnosed with a mental health disorder or someone close to them starts therapy or talks about treatment.
This is also one of the questions parents ask when their young child, teen, or young adult child receives a mental health diagnosis or experiences mental health problems. Most people understand that treatment for mental health disorders involves therapy, and that therapy for mental health typically happens with a psychiatrist or a psychologist.
Therapists and counselors may be involved as well, but we’ll leave those titles out of the conversation for now, and focus on the primary topic: the difference between a psychiatrist and a psychologist.
Psychiatrists and Psychologists Both Support People With Mental Health Problems
That’s the most important similarity between psychiatrists and psychologists: they’re both there to help people with mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Another similarity is that psychiatrists and psychologists provide care in various environments, including hospitals and private treatment centers, and in various types of treatment programs, such as intensive outpatient programs for teens (Teen IOP), partial hospitalization programs for teens (Teen PHP), and intensive outpatient programs for young adults (Young Adult IOP).
Those are the core similarities: they both help people with mental health challenges, and you can find a psychiatrist and a psychologist on staff offering care in a variety of different therapeutic contexts.
Now let’s look at the differences, starting with education and training:
Now let’s get back to how a psychiatrist becomes a psychiatrist and a psychologist becomes a psychologist.
Psychiatrists:
- Must graduate from an accredited, four-year medical school.
- Required to finish a 1-2 year residency in general psychiatry
- Spend an additional 4-6 years training in a psychiatric subspecialty
- Child and adolescent psychiatrists must receive an additional 4 years training, minimum, in a residency or fellowship for child and adolescent psychiatry
After high school, It takes most people 12-16 years to become a practicing psychiatrist.
Psychologists:
- Must receive a bachelor’s degree or equivalent from a four-year college/university
- Complete a doctoral program in psychology, which requires first completing a master’s degree in a relevant field of study
- Complete a one-year clinical internship
- Complete and additional 1-2 years of supervised clinical training to meet state requirements for licensure
After high school, it takes most people 8-12 years to become a practicing, clinical psychologist.
Now let’s look at the differences:
- Psychiatrists are required to go to medical school, while psychologists are not.
- Psychiatrists have the authority to prescribe medication, while psychologists do not.
- Psychologists typically spend more time providing psychotherapy support to patients, while psychiatrists often divide time between medication management and psychotherapy
We can see the primary differences between a psychiatrist and a psychologist reflected in the nature of the training they receive. As medical doctors, psychiatrists receive more training in human physiology, biology, and chemistry, which prepares them to prescribe and manage medication, while psychologists focus on concepts training that prepares them for extensive time providing psychotherapeutic care.
Evidence-Based Treatment Delivered by Trained Professionals
The most important thing to know about the difference between a psychiatrist and a psychologist is the fact that psychiatrists are MDs – i.e. medical doctors – who can prescribe medication.
While psychiatrists do provide psychotherapy, most spend more time monitoring medication and overseeing both the mental and physical health of patients in hospitals and private treatment centers. Psychologists, on the other hand, spend most of their time in one-on-one or group therapy with patients.
Here’s another thing you should know:
Both psychiatrists and psychologists can diagnose mental health disorders, recommend a course of treatment, and refer patients to specialty care.
We’ll close with this reminder: both psychiatrists and psychologists train for years – some for over a decade – to become experts at offering evidence-based care for people with mental health disorders. Both are required to complete rigorous licensure exams, both are required to engage in ongoing professional training and continuing education, and both are bound by all local, state, and federal rules and guidelines that apply to medical professionals.
How to Find Support: Online Resources for Families
If you or someone you know needs mental health treatment, please call us here at BACA: Free Screening: (844) 763-5532. Or you can use these online resources to find a psychiatrist or psychologist in your area:
- The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) is an excellent resource for locating licensed and qualified psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists, and counselors in your area. Their treatment finder is convenient and easy to use.
- The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) maintains a page for youth, adolescent, adult and family mental health
- The National Alliance on Mental Illness maintains excellent resources for families and individuals seeking treatment.
