2 answers
Angela
Student
Buda, Texas
2
Questions
Updated
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Should I do psychology or psychiatry?
Hi! I'm a junior in highschool and I've always been curious about what makes people act the way they do. What I'm interested in doing is helping people with mental disorders or disabilities, like depression, ADHD, schizophrenia, etc, through therapy. I also want to take courses in education so that I have some options. I already plan on majoring in psychology, but if you have any suggestions for majors and minors, I'd love to hear. So, do you think I should do psychology or psychiatry?
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2 answers
Akerke Izetay
36
Answers
Almaty, Almaty Province, Kazakhstan
Updated
Akerke’s Answer
Hi Angela🤗
Psychotherapist and a psychiatrist are doctors, a psychologist is not.
Psychologist. Most often this is a specialist without medical education. Helps you find a way out of a difficult situation, look at problems from different angles. One of the main tools for working with a client is conversation.
Psychotherapist. Works at the intersection of psychology and psychiatry, treats mania, mild and moderate depression, and outbursts of aggression. The psychotherapist does not prescribe medications and cannot send you to the hospital.
Psychiatrist. Helps overcome various addictions (for example, alcoholism), schizophrenia, severe depression, hallucinations. Can prescribe medications, makes decisions about hospitalization, including without the patient’s consent.
How to become a psychologist
When choosing a profession as a psychologist, you need to have the following qualities:
•sympathy;
•communication skills,
•Resilience and ability to cope with stress and sometimes disturbing situations of clients;
•tact, persistence and administrative skills (especially for educational psychology);
•ability to establish relationships, work with offenders and have an open-minded approach (especially for forensic psychology);
•the ability to influence managers and employees (in particular, for work psychology).
How can I check if becoming a psychologist is right for me?
Really understand what it means to be a psychologist
Psychological counseling is one of the areas of modern evidence-based psychology based on scientific research. Counseling psychologists know how to effectively and safely help people cope with their difficulties.
Ready to constantly learn
A two-week course or several books by Freud will not make you a professional. You won’t be able to become a psychologist on your own: it takes time, practical teachers, and study of research.
You are driven by the desire to understand and help, and not by the desire for money, popularity or solving your own problems
The point is not that we condemn such motivation: for other professions and occupations it is completely justified. But in psychology there is a high risk that you will become frustrated and burn out. You will have to work hard to achieve big earnings and popularity, and you will not be able to solve your problems within the framework of training - go to personal therapy faster and more effectively. At the same time, you will be able to look for a profession and calling to your liking.
But if you like communicating with people, it’s interesting to know how others see the world and how their psyche works, and especially if you have experience in personal therapy and you also want to do similar things, it seems like psychology is for you! If you are not afraid of constant learning, you will be able to enjoy your work and profession.
Psychotherapist and a psychiatrist are doctors, a psychologist is not.
Psychologist. Most often this is a specialist without medical education. Helps you find a way out of a difficult situation, look at problems from different angles. One of the main tools for working with a client is conversation.
Psychotherapist. Works at the intersection of psychology and psychiatry, treats mania, mild and moderate depression, and outbursts of aggression. The psychotherapist does not prescribe medications and cannot send you to the hospital.
Psychiatrist. Helps overcome various addictions (for example, alcoholism), schizophrenia, severe depression, hallucinations. Can prescribe medications, makes decisions about hospitalization, including without the patient’s consent.
How to become a psychologist
When choosing a profession as a psychologist, you need to have the following qualities:
•sympathy;
•communication skills,
•Resilience and ability to cope with stress and sometimes disturbing situations of clients;
•tact, persistence and administrative skills (especially for educational psychology);
•ability to establish relationships, work with offenders and have an open-minded approach (especially for forensic psychology);
•the ability to influence managers and employees (in particular, for work psychology).
How can I check if becoming a psychologist is right for me?
Really understand what it means to be a psychologist
Psychological counseling is one of the areas of modern evidence-based psychology based on scientific research. Counseling psychologists know how to effectively and safely help people cope with their difficulties.
Ready to constantly learn
A two-week course or several books by Freud will not make you a professional. You won’t be able to become a psychologist on your own: it takes time, practical teachers, and study of research.
You are driven by the desire to understand and help, and not by the desire for money, popularity or solving your own problems
The point is not that we condemn such motivation: for other professions and occupations it is completely justified. But in psychology there is a high risk that you will become frustrated and burn out. You will have to work hard to achieve big earnings and popularity, and you will not be able to solve your problems within the framework of training - go to personal therapy faster and more effectively. At the same time, you will be able to look for a profession and calling to your liking.
But if you like communicating with people, it’s interesting to know how others see the world and how their psyche works, and especially if you have experience in personal therapy and you also want to do similar things, it seems like psychology is for you! If you are not afraid of constant learning, you will be able to enjoy your work and profession.
Thank you so much, this is extremely helpful!!
Angela
Heidi Ann Lundeen-Botrous
Psychiatrist
4
Answers
Roscoe, Illinois
Updated
Heidi Ann’s Answer
In order to become a psychiatrist, you must become an MD first, ie attend medical school. This is a competitive, expensive process, heavy on basic sciences. You will be required to take the exact same courses as an internal med, surgery, pathology, etc doc all would. There are a lot of labs; think anatomy and dissecting cadavers, microscopes, etc.
Depending on what you wish to achieve in psychology, this is a more academic, therapy type situation, much closer to education in nature.
Have you thought of interviewing a psychologist vs a psychiatrist? They can tell you exactly what is different. Gives you the opportunity to ask more specific questions.
Depending on what you wish to achieve in psychology, this is a more academic, therapy type situation, much closer to education in nature.
Heidi Ann recommends the following next steps: