Differences between a Psychologist and a Psychiatrist.

Looking at my own training and reviewing the training offered around the state of Ohio, I will describe the differences I am aware of between these two professions. Different states in the US each have a unique State Board of Psychology, and the requirements can differ somewhat.

The American Psychiatric Association

Practice of Psychiatry

A psychiatrist is a physician - a medical doctor, either MD or DO (Doctor of Osteopathy) - that has earned a 4-year undergraduate degree in a "pre-med" focus of subjects, and a university medical school. He or she has then served an internship and then one or more residency, at least one of which is in psychiatry.

The special training in psychiatry is in addition to all of the rest of the in-depth medical school training the doctor has received.

Similar to all of the rest of the medical specialties, psychiatrists largely focus on physical etiologies or causes for illnesses, including mental, and prescribe a wide variety of medications for treatment. In the past, even heroin and LSD have been prescribed in different parts of the world of psychiatry.

Psychiatric training is medical training that does not necessarily include psychotherapy. However, often it does include it. Psychiatrists are not usually required to complete a course of personal psychotherapy themselves, as psychologists are required to do. Psychiatric training in psychotherapy largely targets Freud's and others' psychoanalysis methods, but psychiatrists are more often taking psychology courses and seminars to add to their knowledge of alternative psychotherapies and treatments. Some psychiatrists earn degrees in psychology as well, and some even add a law degree when they enter forensics research and practice.

Psychiatrists often send their patients to psychologists for psychological testing as well. Thus, psychologists may more psych testing than psychiatrists. Different training programs may have differing additional goals to meet.

• Cleveland Clinic - Residency Training
• Case Western Reserve University  - MetroHealth Medical Center Residency Training
• Medical College of Ohio - Residency Training
• Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine
• Ohio State University
• University of Cincinnati
• Wright State University - Residency Training

The American Psychological Association

Areas of Psychological Specialty

A psychologist starts out by earning a 4-year bachelor's degree or a 5-6 year combined bachelor and master's degree at an accredited college or university. They will then go on to a Master's Degree followed by a Doctoral Degree or to a combined program of Master's and Doctoral work that ends in a doctoral degree called any of the following, depending on the professional school/university attended: Ph.D., Psy.D., or Ed.D. There are several areas in which to specialize and the student will choose a specialty. See the American Psychological Association's website for full descriptions of these areas. After the Doctorate is achieved, post-doc work and study can be experienced while the student is studying for board licensing. Some students serve more than one post-doc.

Many psychologists receive extensive training and experience in research, whereas some psychiatrists do not (but many of them do receive medical research training, so the distinction is blurring); however, I see more teams of psychiatrists with psychologists that also include social workers and other mental health professionals in important research. This research includes addiction and substance abuse studies, and many others.

Psychology applies research findings to determine the efficacy of treatments However, the total world of medicine (including psychiatry) and natural sciences does not fully recognize psychology or its research as a legitimate science.

Psychology students on their way to becoming licensed practitioners, complete one or several clinical internships under the official supervision of a licensed psychologist. The state board of psychology received supervision reports and logs of hours supervised as a mater of law. Official Continuing Study credit hours are offered as professional development by many organizations such as hospitals or state boards. A psychologist may have been required to have experienced at least a year of personal psychotherapy. I personally knew a psychologist that had a Master's Degree and was grandfathered into a PhD and a license (promoted up by the state board based on time in practice) and never took another course.

Psychologists often receive courses and practical experiences (a practicum) in psychological testing.

Different psychology training programs may have additional goals to meet, depending on the school attended and in what state.

• Union Institute & University - Cincinnati - Cincinnati
• Bowling Green State University - Department of Psychology - Bowling Green
• Case Western Reserve University - Psychology Department - Cleveland
• Cedarville University - Cedarville
• Cleveland State University - Counselor Education Programs - Cleveland
• Cleveland State University - Psychology Department - Cleveland
• John Carroll University - Community Counseling Program - Cleveland
• John Carroll University - Psychology Department - Cleveland
• Kent State University - Psychology Department - Kent
• Kent State University - School Psychology Program - Kent
• Miami University - Department of Psychology - Oxford
• Ohio State University - Department of Psychology - Columbus
• Ohio University - Counselor Education - Athens
• Ohio University - Department of Psychology - Athens
• University of Akron - Department of Counseling - Akron
• University of Akron - Department of Psychology - Akron
• University of Cincinnati - Counseling Program - Cincinnati
• University of Cincinnati - Department of Psychology - Cincinnati
• University of Dayton - Psychology Department - Dayton
• University of Toledo - Counseling and Mental Health Services - Toledo
• University of Toledo - Psychology Department - Toledo
• Wright State University - Department of Human Services - Dayton
• Wright State University - Psychology Department - Dayton
• Xavier University - Department of Psychology - Cincinnati
• Youngstown State University - Counseling Department - Youngstown
• Youngstown State University - Psychology Department - Youngstown

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