What's the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist?

Question

what exactly is a psychologist? and what does he/she do?
what exactly is a psychiatris? and what does he/she do?

Answer 1

Psychologist--offers therapy to help you mentally.
Psychiatrist---offers presciptions to help you mentally.

They SHOULD work together to help their patients...meds to stabilize (so you aren't too depressed) and therapy to work out why you are depressed in the first place (incase it is not a chemical imbalance).

Psychiatrists do NOT provide therapy (which is why The Sopranos is unrealistic).

Answer 2

Psychologists listen to your problems and make suggestions on how to improve yourself. They have no medical training and can't take any action in such a way.

A psychiatrist is a licensed medical doctor who will often prescribe medications for the problems you're exhibiting. If you're seeing a psychiatrist your problems might be more complex, like coming from medically related problem, which is where a psychologist can't help you.

Answer 3

A psychologist has studied psychology and served a clinical internship. They can have a variety of college degrees. A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who has gone into the specialty of mental illness and its treatment. Usually, a psychologist can help with behavioral issues (called therapy)and a psychiatrist with mental illness that needs medication/treatment.

Answer 4

A psychiatris can medicate, and a psychologist can't.

A psychiatris will usually sit down with you for 5 minutes and give you a drug to fix your problem.

A psychologist will sit down and talk to you and try and figure out how we can make you better.

Answer 5

I don't think the psychologist is allowed to prescribe medications, but he usually works in an office with there is also a psychiatrist, that will review the patients chart and do the prescribing

Answer 6

A psychologist is a scientist and/or clinician who studies psychology, the systematic investigation of the human behavior and mental processes. Psychologists are usually categorized under a number of different fields, the most well-recognized being clinical psychologists, who provide mental health care, and research psychologists, who collect, investigate and analyze aspects of human behavior.no medical school required and they cant right perscriptions


Psychiatry is a medical speciality whose primary goal is to improve people's mental well-being. This can be by managing and improving the symptoms of specific mental illness, as well as assisting people to gain insight into themselves and their relationships with others. they must go to medical school and can write prescriptions to their patients.

Answer 7

A psychiatrist can perssribe meds to a person after meeting with them and seeing their symptoms. A psychologist counsels a person and helps them through problems they are having.

Answer 8

A neurotic builds castles in the sky, a psychotic lives in them, and a psychiatrist collects the rent. A psychologist? He does the plumbing.

Answer 9

I'm actually dismayed by the answers that I'm reading here. Many are simply incorrect, or involve biases in the therapy/medication debate.

The most accurate answer, and also the least biased is actually the first. Sasha, thank you for that.

I know that claims of expertise on public and anonymous boards like this are common and frequently lies, but for what it is worth, I am a psychologist.

Answer 10

one can write prescriptions (psychiatrist), the other one can't. Therefore the psychiatrist has had more schooling (a doctorate) and usually charges a lot more. Psychologist will try to resolve your problems by talking to you and if that does'nt work will refer you to the psychiatrist.