Psychiatrist or Psychologist?

[nrwriter]

Hi, I just found this forum, and made an account right away; I love psychology in general!

I've known that I have wanted to go into the field of psychology ever since I was ten; I am now 17.

The thing I can't decide on, however, is whether to go into psychology or psychiatry. I know that in order to be a psychiatrist, you must go to medical school, which is a big chunk of time added on to schooling. However, if I chose to be a psychologist I would probably get a Psy-D, which would take about the same number of years as medical school (or at least around the same amount of work).

I'm leaning towards psychology (strictly clinical, no research), because psychiatrists seem to be the ones who prescribe the medicine, and then send patients to psychologists for the talking. The talking is the reason I want to go into this field; it would make sense, then, to go into psychology. Psychology, however, does not seem to pay as well as psychiatry.

So, which one? I know it's a matter of opinion, but please post yours and why you think either one is better to choose as a profession

Thanks ^^

[RisingSun]

You don't need to decide right now. Pick a major in Arts & Sciences. Your course work for freshman and sophomore years in college should be about the same whether you go psychology or psychiatry.

[Enigma]

Bah...I'm resisting the urge to go on a tangent about the over medication of America's youth by so-called "psychiatrists" greedy for kickbacks and the rampant misdiagnosing of serious mental illnesses by "psychologists" but I think I just failed. 

Anyways, because of my aforementioned views I'm shooting for the research aspect of psychology.  Since I'm vain and want to make money I'm minoring or possibly duel majoring in Neuroscience.  Your not gonna get paid diddly with just a degree in psychology.  The key is to find another field in which you can significantly apply your psychology degree.

[SWM]

Hi, I just found this forum, and made an account right away; I love psychology in general!

I've known that I have wanted to go into the field of psychology ever since I was ten; I am now 17.

The thing I can't decide on, however, is whether to go into psychology or psychiatry. I know that in order to be a psychiatrist, you must go to medical school, which is a big chunk of time added on to schooling. However, if I chose to be a psychologist I would probably get a Psy-D, which would take about the same number of years as medical school (or at least around the same amount of work).

I'm leaning towards psychology (strictly clinical, no research), because psychiatrists seem to be the ones who prescribe the medicine, and then send patients to psychologists for the talking. The talking is the reason I want to go into this field; it would make sense, then, to go into psychology. Psychology, however, does not seem to pay as well as psychiatry.

So, which one? I know it's a matter of opinion, but please post yours and why you think either one is better to choose as a profession

Thanks ^^

hi and welcome to the forums.

your decisions here are influenced by two things, the wage differential between psychology and psychiatry and the quality of the work.

which is most important to you. having 20-30k a year more or doing something that you would enjoy.


personally i would like to see psychiatry being taken down a peg and i believe that changes in understanding of mental health, (recovery and efficacy of psychotherapy) will bring about these changes. i would like to see more people treated with psychological interventions and less medciation. these changes are now being integrated into the mental health service here in the uk. this is great for me as a therapsit and not so good for the future of psychiatry and psycho-pharmacology.

[darkdan]

Psychiatry is a lot harder to get into, stay in, and finish.  You're looking at pre-med, MCATs, med school, and then psychiatry.  I thought about it, and then quickly decided that was too much for me.

It would be nice, but it's not for me.

[bdng09]

Psychologists make a lot of money, depending on what you do. If you do testing, you can make serious cash. If you go into private practice, you can make a lot of money as well. Psychiatrists are way different than psychologists; they only look at things from a biological perspective because they are trained as medical doctors. They don't understand the complex, multi-dimensional aspects of human behavior. In addition, for the most part psychiatrists are relegated to medication management because that's all insurance companies will pay for. So, if you want to help peopl, i.e. talk with them and help them overcome their problems through therapy, you can either become a psychologist or become a clinical social worker. Of course, there's more prestige in psychology, and they make a bit more money, but I know clinical social workers who make a substantial amount of money. Plus, if you realy want to help people, it's not really about making money; it's about giving people support, alleviating suffering, and aiding in their social functioning.

I lean more toward social work in that I am a social worker, I am receiving a great education in a clinical MSW program, and see that human behavior is shaped by more than internal forces; there is a social piece to the puzzle, especially with populations that have ender racism, sexism, heterosexism, classism, poverty, homelessness, etc. Anyway, PsyD will get you there...I have been contemplating that route myself following my program for more in-depth training in CBT or psychodynamic interventions.