Help How are Psychiatrists?

[ikiruNObungaku]

Hello. I would like to know, how do psychiatrists differ from therapist and psychologists? When I was very young, I was assigned a psychologist. Older, I was then assigned a therapist. Neither seemed to really work for me. I think I am more logistical than emotional, so it was hard for me to answer questions based on feelings. I have a hard time understanding questions if asked about my feelings for something, it is better for me to explain a situation and then for someone to make an observation. But recently, I have been told to try and go to a psychiatrist. I would like to try this and see if there can be improvements for me, but how much are psychiatrists different from therapists and psychologists? I know I can look up the answer, but I would be happier if I had the account of people with experience.

 

[whywere]

From what I know, psychiatrists can prescribe meds, where psychologists are more along the lines of talk therapy.

Whenever I went to a psychiatrist and asked questions, I was shut down on the spot, as they prescribe meds only, this is what they would tell me and questions went to psychologist.

Remember one time when on a first visit, I asked a psychiatrist a mental health question and she said to talk to a psychologist about it.

Walter

 

[Forever Sleep]

From what I know, psychiatrists can prescribe meds, where psychologists are more along the lines of talk therapy.

Whenever I went to a psychiatrist and asked questions, I was shut down on the spot, as they prescribe meds only, this is what they would tell me and questions went to psychologist.

Remember one time when on a first visit, I asked a psychiatrist a mental health question and she said to talk to a psychologist about it.

Walter

That's what I understood also- that they were more about prescribing medication. But then- how do they diagnose without analysing a person, asking questions about their symptoms and how they see the world? So they can best decide what's 'wrong' with them? Do they maybe work in tandem with therapists/ psychologists?

I also wonder how long they need to decide what a person is likely suffering from and what drugs might help that.

Sorry OP- I don't have personal experience but, I'm curious too.

 

[sanctionedusage]

Walter's right

They're also typically unknowledgeable, specialize in nothing in the vast range of mental disorders and illnesses, and make up arbitrary distinctions or offer none at all, since most people don't know enough about the pseudoscience of psychiatry to question the distinctions in the first place. They follow checklists and charts and have little to no concept of nuance, and don't care about the safety or risks of their medications and what it means if they prescribe you something you didn't need. People have had their lives ruined by being prescribed SSRIs when they actually had bipolar type I or II, or being prescribed antipsychotics when they were mentally healthy.

If you go to a psychiatrist, you need to be educated and steer the conversation yourself, question everything, and research the effects in the best case & worst case scenario, weighing in with the likelihood of each.

Psychiatrists make their money off people who thirst for labels from someone who doesn't know what they're talking about. The ONLY thing you should be after is a specific class of medication, and don't take anything you haven't heard of without researching it yourself.

 

[nitrogenous]

These are my experience so please take it with a grain of salt :)

In my area, psychiatrists are the one with legal rights to dispense medications (along with GP's to some extent depending on where you are). Psychologists on the other hand, do not have the qualification to do so as they do not undergo medical school. In regards to diagnoses, I am not too sure whether general psychologists can diagnose without a psychiatrist, but for me personally all my diagnoses came from my psychiatrist with the exception of my ADHD as that was diagnosed by a specialised clinical psychologist whom I have only seen twice (one for the intake session which lasts 4 hours ish and the outcome session).

Psychologists tend to focus on your feelings and how that interacts with how you feel/act. They might utilise a number of techniques such as DBT/ACT/CBT and so many more to help challenge cognitive distortions. Psychiatrists on the other hand usually approach the problem from a biomedical perspective, using medications that act on the brain (for example SSRIs,SNRIs, etc). I find that a combination of both is usually the go to.

As of now, I am unfortunately unable to continue with both therapy and psychiatrists due to my adverse experience with them (but I do believe in medications and therapy, it's just that I haven't found the right support). I am definitely hoping to find the right fit in the future though, a team of people with true compassion and care…

 

[Frxtagooox]

asHello. I would like to know, how do psychiatrists differ from therapist and psychologists? When I was very young, I was assigned a psychologist. Older, I was then assigned a therapist. Neither seemed to really work for me. I think I am more logistical than emotional, so it was hard for me to answer questions based on feelings. I have a hard time understanding questions if asked about my feelings for something, it is better for me to explain a situation and then for someone to make an observation. But recently, I have been told to try and go to a psychiatrist. I would like to try this and see if there can be improvements for me, but how much are psychiatrists different from therapists and psychologists? I know I can look up the answer, but I would be happier if I had the account of people with experience.

usually therapist as in the alternate name of psychiatrist would prescribe you some meds regarding your diagnosis. and psychologist would just talk to you to find the problem and clear it and not giving you the meds.

 

[daruino]

Same thing as what the others have described. I maybe had 2 actual conversations (45+ min) with my psychiatrist, and she did ask about my feelings , but eventually the only purpose of talking to a psychiatrist is to see if medication is an option. After that, it is way shorter conversations, often phone calls, to check how it is going with side effects and practical things (upping my dosage, needing new prescription to be sent, pharmacy not getting said prescription etc). They are not there to talk about your life- though I get the impression that that is something you might want- just not in the way psychologists usually do.

 

[lachrymost]

I suspect a lot of people go to psychiatrists expecting that the psychiatrist will make a judgment as to whether or not they should try medication after carefully reviewing their situation. I like to caution that psychiatrists almost never suggest you shouldn't try medication. For that to happen you'd have to have very minimal problems that haven't been going on for very long. They are decidedly the pill-pushers.

 

[mokoi-degen]

Hello. I would like to know, how do psychiatrists differ from therapist and psychologists? When I was very young, I was assigned a psychologist. Older, I was then assigned a therapist. Neither seemed to really work for me. I think I am more logistical than emotional, so it was hard for me to answer questions based on feelings. I have a hard time understanding questions if asked about my feelings for something, it is better for me to explain a situation and then for someone to make an observation. But recently, I have been told to try and go to a psychiatrist. I would like to try this and see if there can be improvements for me, but how much are psychiatrists different from therapists and psychologists? I know I can look up the answer, but I would be happier if I had the account of people with experience.

Psychologists can't give you medication, and they do more therapy. Psychiatrists study medicine and can prescribe you medication and diagnose you with mental illnesses. Therapists can have both psychology and psychiatry credentials. So if you want meds you go to a psychiatrist and if you want help go to a therapist.