If you have a mental health problem that interferes with your life, you may consider seeking professional help. ButHow to know if I need to go to a psychologist or psychiatrist? It is common to find people who do not differentiate between one professional or another.
These confusions or doubts may be due to the fact that there are some similarities, but also important differences that mark in which situations you should go to one specialist and not the other, such as their training, as well as the treatment provided by each of them. them, which depends to a certain extent on that training. In this Psychology-Online article, we tell you the differences between a psychologist and a psychiatrist so that you know which one you should go to based on your symptoms and what you are looking for.
Many people confuse both professionals. This may be because they both focus on the person’s emotions, feelings, and thoughts. Additionally, both can treat mental illnesses with psychological treatment. However, psychiatrists study medicine before specializing in psychiatry, and for this reason they usually work in a more biological framework that relates mental and physical problems (although it must be taken into account that there are different schools within psychiatry and The approach varies from one to another).
Differences between psychologist and psychiatrist
The main differences are:
- Psychiatrists are doctors while psychologists do not
- Psychiatrists prescribe medication while psychologists do not.
- Psychiatrists usually treat serious mental illnesses while psychologists usually treat milder ones.
Differences in treatment
Psychiatrists can provide different types of treatment:
- Medication
- Review of general health, including physical health and the effects of medication
- Brain stimulation therapies
- They can perform psychotherapy (depends on the approach)
Psychologists provide psychological treatments (psychotherapy).
Differences in terms of treated conditions
Psychiatrists typically treat people who have medical, psychological, and social needs. Some of these conditions are:
- severe depression
- Schizophrenia
- People who have attempted suicide or who have a suicide are usually seen by a psychiatrist and, subsequently, can work together with the psychologist.
Psychologists often treat people with milder problems that can be treated effectively through psychotherapy, such as behavioral problems, learning difficulties, depression or anxiety.
Joint work
Sometimes psychiatrists and psychologists work together and multidisciplinary. The psychiatrist can perform an initial evaluation and subsequently refer to the psychologist to begin psychotherapy simultaneously with psychopharmacological treatment).
It is common that in life there are bad and good times that we go through and overcome within normality. But there are some challenges that surpass us and that make it impossible to think that we can move forward, from the death of a loved one to very high levels of anxiety, the important thing is to know that there are resources to overcome these phases of life, like the psychologist . Some of the reasons or times when you go to a psychologist are:
Duel
Death is inevitable in life, but this does not mean that it is hard to overcome. Each of us faces the death of a loved one. Grief, whether open or private, is common and necessary to face these situations, but when it persists for a long time and interferes with our daily activities, we need help and the psychologist can provide us with appropriate strategies for it.
Stress and anxiety
Some facets of life are stressful and many situations, from a job interview to relationship problems, can cause anxiety. Stress and anxiety, if left unchecked, can lead to social isolation, depression and many other problems. The psychologist can help you manage stress and anxiety finding the cause of your problems and finding appropriate ways to overcome them.
Depression
Feelings of hopelessness and helplessness are common signs of depression. While some believe that depression can be overcome without difficulty, in many cases this is not the case. Depression is a common disorder in which people lose interest in things, experience fatigue, and often have trouble controlling their emotions.
Psychologist or psychiatrist for depression?
Psychologists can help you first find the cause of depression and incorporate life changes that are often the first step to feeling better.
Phobias
Being afraid of heights or spiders are common phobias, but some unusual and irrational fears can create substantial problems in your life. For example, sitophobia (fear of eating) can cause serious health problems.
An experienced psychologist can help you overcome fears so you can live without polyphobia (fear of many things) or phobophobia (fear of fear).
Family problems
Relationships, whether family, personal or work, have their ups and downs. While relationships can be some of the best things in life, they can also be a source of stress and problems.
Working with a psychologist, either individually or in a group, can help eliminate the rifts that can form in even the strongest relationships.
Unhealthy habits and addictions
Some unhealthy habits, such as the consumption of tobacco, alcohol or drugs, are used as a way to escape from problems.
In addition to addiction to these substances, psychologists can treat:
Mental disorders
Some symptoms are caused by larger problems. Mental disorders can manifest themselves in different ways, they can be disguised as other things, and sometimes they can only be discovered by a mental health professional. The person may come to treat a problem and finally discover that it is truly a specific symptom of a disorder.
Some of the mental disorders that can present very varied symptoms are:
- Bipolar disorder
- Major depressive disorder
- Schizophrenia
- Posttraumatic stress
As we mentioned previously, psychiatrists would be in charge of diagnosis of mental disorders considered serious and they would be in charge of evaluating the physical aspects of psychological problems (it must be taken into account that it depends on the school to which the psychiatrist belongs).
People often seek help from a psychiatrist for various reasons. Problems can occur suddenly, such as a panic attack, hallucinations, suicidal thoughts, or hearing voices. But they can also be long-term problems such as feelings of sadness, hopelessness or anxiety that never seem to go away and that interfere with normal day-to-day functioning.
A person can go to a psychiatrist:
- When you need a psychotropic drug to treat your problem
- When no improvements are noted with the prescribed psychotropic drugs (Medication adjustment)
- If you are experiencing side effects complex
If the question of “How to know if I need to go to a psychologist or psychiatrist?” It is possible that you should go to a health center so that they can advise you and evaluate your demands.