What is the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist?
A psychologist may have a Bachelors degree after 4 years of college (BA, BS), a Master degree after another 1 or 2 years (MS Psy, MS Psychol, &c), or a Doctorate degree after another 2 to 3 years (PhD, PsyD &c). A psychologist studies human behavior, both normal and abnormal, and may specialize in psychological testing (psychometrics) or specialize in testing for subtle types of brain damage (neuropsychological testing). Clinical Psychology is another special area of study wherein psychologists are trained to specialize in counseling. Generally, there is little or no medical training, and limited or no training in use of medications. The number of patients seen during training is typically limited to less than twenty.
A psychiatrist must finish 3 or 4 years of college taking required scientific training in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Advanced Mathematics, and earn a Bachelors Degree in the areas of study. This is followed by 4 years of medical school to earn an MD or DO. After the first two years, and after the second two years, national certifying examinations (from the National Board of Medical Examiners, Parts I and II) must be passed before the person can advance in school. Usually, this is followed by a one-year internship, spending six or more months in training in Psychiatry. This is followed by Part III of the National Boards certifying examination; it too must be passed in order to continue further in the training. The new physician then enrolls in a 3-year residency in Psychiatry, spending all three years caring for patient with psychiatric illness. This occurs on hospital services and outpatient services, as well as in special clinics. This may then be followed by a one to three year fellowship in any of the subspecialities in Psychiatry, including Psychopharmacology, Child Psychiatry, Forensic Psychiatry, Oncology Psychiatry, and Geriatric Psychiatry. Until recently, it was necessary to have two years of clinical practice before the certification examination in Psychiatry could be taken; it may now be taken after completion of residency training or fellowship. If this test from the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Inc. is passed, the doctor is said to be Board-Certified. During the years in training, usually hundreds of patients are seen under supervision from many different psychiatrists. About 50% of psychiatric inpatients and 25% of psychiatric outpatients have physicall illnesses related to or causing their psychiatric symptoms; having medical school training is very helpful. Because psychiatrists are physicians, they have a broad perspective, incorporating relevant aspects of physical illness into diagnostic and treatment processes.