# What's the difference between Psychologist and Psychiatrist? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 22, 2003, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-psychologist-and-psychiatrist/150113 "2003-01-22T01:17:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dreamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@dreamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dreamer)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-psychologist-and-psychiatrist/150113/1 "2003-01-22T01:17:05Z")
The title is my question 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![GOM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/5f9b8f/32.png) [@GOM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GOM)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-psychologist-and-psychiatrist/150113/2 "2003-01-22T01:18:06Z")
About $50,000.00, I think. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-psychologist-and-psychiatrist/150113/3 "2003-01-22T01:19:11Z")
I believe a psychiatrist has to be a medical doctor as well. A psychologist would not have to go through med school. ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-psychologist-and-psychiatrist/150113/4 "2003-01-22T01:27:22Z")
Psychiatrists are MDs. They study medicine just like any other MD, then do a residency (usually 2 years, I think) in psychiatry. They used to do therapy, but in the last ten years or so, most psychiatrists only dispense medications. They are expensive, so the administration of hospitals, etc. want them to see as many patients as possible. Medication appointments (after the initial diagnostic visit or two) are short, so psychiatrists can see many patients a day. Psychologists, on the other hand, have Ph.Ds. We train in academic graduate psychology departments (usually for 5 years) and complete a one year internship, where we do therapy full time. Most programs have you do therapy part time while you are getting your Ph.D, too. Since we are not MDs, we can’t dispense medications. Hope this is helpful. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-psychologist-and-psychiatrist/150113/5 "2003-01-22T01:27:30Z")
Yes, a pyschologist has his 4 year Psychology degree. On top of that, a psychiatrist is a medical doctor. And a Psychoanalyst is a follower of Freud. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-psychologist-and-psychiatrist/150113/6 "2003-01-22T01:28:50Z")
Okay, **Brynda** made me look stupid. But you can claim to be a psychologist with a 4-year degree, can’t you? ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-psychologist-and-psychiatrist/150113/7 "2003-01-22T01:29:12Z")
**GOM** , at _least_ $50,000. 🙂 But on the other hand, I think we have better quality of life. I would hate a day full of 15 minute appointments and handing out prescriptions. ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-psychologist-and-psychiatrist/150113/8 "2003-01-22T01:31:35Z")
**Speaker for the Dead** , it depends on state licensure. I don’t think there are any states that allow licensure with just a bachelor’s, but don’t quote me. The usual is that you can’t call yourself a psychologist unless you have at least a Master’s. Anyone, on the other hand, can call themselves a “counselor.” It is not a protected term. ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-psychologist-and-psychiatrist/150113/9 "2003-01-22T01:33:25Z")
Oh, and that 5 years of training is post-bachelor’s degree. The usual route is to get a B.S. in psychology, then enter a graduate program for 5 years where you get a Master’s and a Ph.D. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-psychologist-and-psychiatrist/150113/10 "2003-01-22T01:37:12Z")
I know it varies by state, but in Texas we have practicing psychologists with Masters degrees. And I believe New Mexico recently became the first state to allow psychologists to prescribe drugs, with some specialized training. I assume DOs can be psychiatrists as well as MDs. Is that right? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-psychologist-and-psychiatrist/150113/11 "2003-01-22T02:18:56Z")
MDs and DOs can be psychiatrists. After 4 years of undergrad, then 4 years of medical school, they take 3-5 years of psychiatric residency (4 is most common). Then they take their Psychiatry boards to get certified. Fellowships, such as in forensic , child, or family psychiatry to name only three, are generally up to 2 years in length, and are entered into after 3 years of residency in psychiatry. To do psycho-analytic therapy (a vanishing breed), it takes up to 7 years of psychiatric training. Until the advent of managed care, psychiatrists did quite a bit of cognitive and behavioral therapy. But they’ve been pushed out of that arena, and tend to manage meds for these patients while social workers and/or psychologists do the therapy. Psychiatrists are certainly the treaters of choice for psychotic disorders such as bipolar, schizophrenia, etc. Neuropsychiatry is an up and coming field. As is child psychiatry. A freshly minted child and adolescent psychiatrist generally has about 10-15 job offers to choose from, and can easily garner over $150/hour. If you’d like that pathway, hie yourself over to your local med school admissions office, and 9 years later, you’re ready! Of course by that time, the market will have changed, and you won’t be in demand anymore. ---
**Author:** ![dreamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@dreamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dreamer)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-psychologist-and-psychiatrist/150113/12 "2003-01-22T03:01:00Z")
I understand the job of a _psychiatrist_ now, but what does a _psychologist_ do in their every day job? ---
**Author:** ![j\_kat\_251](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/71c47a/32.png) [@j\_kat\_251](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j_kat_251)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-psychologist-and-psychiatrist/150113/13 "2003-01-22T03:23:20Z")
Talks to people about their problems, but can’t actually give out tasty pills to fix them. I don’t actually know this for a fact though. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-psychologist-and-psychiatrist/150113/14 "2003-01-22T03:55:21Z")
Psychology is an academic field, not a profession. Psychologists are to psychiatrists what biologists are to doctors. Many people who have psychology degrees get jobs as counselors, which basically means giving advice on various personal problems. They don’t treat actual mental illnesses. But I think the term “psychologist” only refers to people in academia. My mother is one and she spends most of her time teaching at a university. At least that’s my understanding. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-psychologist-and-psychiatrist/150113/15 "2003-01-22T04:34:06Z")
> [@](#): > > Psychology is an academic field, not a profession. Psychologists are to psychiatrists what biologists are to doctors. Many people who have psychology degrees get jobs as counselors, which basically means giving advice on various personal problems. They don’t treat actual mental illnesses. But I think the term “psychologist” only refers to people in academia. My mother is one and she spends most of her time teaching at a university. Psychology is an academic field, but “clinical psychologist” is a profession as well. They do treat actual mental disorders with therapy (often in addition to medication prescribed by a psychiatrist), and in my somewhat limited experience \* ,do the more time-consuming parts of the treatment such as the evaluation. A person may not be able to refer to themselves on business cards and such as a psychologist without a license to practice. In NY when I graduated from college, you could be licensed as a " school psychologist" with a Master’s in (you guessed it) “school psychology” and you had to call yourself a “school psychologist”. If you had a Ph.D. or Psy. D and were not licensed you couldn’t call yourself a “psychologist”. You could be a psychology professor or a social psychologist but not a plain old psychologist without a license.The people with bachelor’s degrees in psychology can get jobs as counselors or caseworkers, but so can people with a bachelor’s in English becasue “counselor” and “caseworker” are not licensed professions in NY \*(the two jobs in which I’ve dealt with mental health professionals involved child protection and supervising parolees, which means that I don’t often encounter people who are in therapy because they want to be more assertive at work or get along better with their family. I generally encounter people who don’t believe they have any problems, so nearly all of them need an evaluation first) ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-psychologist-and-psychiatrist/150113/16 "2003-01-22T13:05:44Z")
It varies by state as to whether counselors need licensure. My SO is a pyschotherapist and holds a license issued by the Commonwealth of VA. ---
**Author:** ![royjwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ce73a5/32.png) [@royjwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/royjwood)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-psychologist-and-psychiatrist/150113/17 "2003-01-22T13:25:25Z")
I am surprised that the Psychologists and Psychiatrists did not actually point out the one main difference between the two professions… Psychiatrists consider mental disorders to be chemical imbalances and treatments consist of high-priced medicines. Psychologists consider mental disorders to be emotional imbalances and treatments consist of high-priced counselling. Depending on the disorder, depends on which method is actually better than the other. As already mentioned, though, sometimes, Psychiatry and Psychology work together with both medicines and counselling. However, I lean much more towards Psychology as it actually and quite personally confronts the persons problems. However, Psychology is also incredibly discriminatory in how it sterotypes everyone into strange little categories. Nonetheless, both Psychology and Psychiatry have their place in modern medical treatment of mental disorders. ---
**Author:** ![dreamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@dreamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dreamer)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-psychologist-and-psychiatrist/150113/18 "2003-01-22T15:31:33Z")
Thank you all, I understand the difference now 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Yossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/9de0a6/32.png) [@Yossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yossarian)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-psychologist-and-psychiatrist/150113/19 "2003-01-22T17:08:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Brynda \* > \*\* > Anyone, on the other hand, can call themselves a “counselor.” It is not a protected term. \*\* In Texas, at least, there are “counselors”, and then there are _Counselors_–LPC’s. To be a Licensed Practicing Counselor (LPC), I think it takes at least a Master’s degree, plus supervised experience, plus a state exam. To hang yor own shingle as a counselor, you have to have the LPC. ---
**Author:** ![Yossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/9de0a6/32.png) [@Yossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yossarian)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-psychologist-and-psychiatrist/150113/20 "2003-01-22T17:09:40Z")
yor = “your”. This crappy work keyboard is always doing this to me, I swear. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-psychologist-and-psychiatrist/150113.md?page=2)