What is the difference between a psychiatrist and a psychologist? Medicine

When a person hurts something, he goes to the doctor. If the throat hurts - to the therapist, if the teeth - to the dentist, if the legs - to the orthopedist. And to whom to go if the soul hurts? To a psychologist or a psychiatrist? Many people often confuse these two specialties, so you need to carefully understand what a psychiatrist differs from a psychologist.

General concepts

The names of these specialties are very closely intertwined. This is not surprising, because a psychologist, psychiatrist, psychotherapist - these are terms with one root. From the Greek "psycho" - the soul, and therefore, these professions are closely related to brain activity, the higher nervous system and the psyche in general. But each of them has its own fundamental differences. Understand the concepts:

• Psychology is a science that deals with general questions about the state of the soul.
• Psychiatry refers to the medical field and involves the treatment of various mental abnormalities.
• Psychotherapy is a method of treatment by affecting the psyche.

Let's look at the details of how a psychiatrist differs from a psychologist.

Psychologist

A psychologist is a specialist who graduated from a higher humanitarian educational institution, most often pedagogical. He has nothing to do with medicine. His task is to study the inner world of a person, to understand what problems he has, how he can be helped. Psychologist's help is most often oral. He has no right to prescribe drugs and make diagnoses. The result of his activity is concrete advice on getting out of crisis situations related to the patient's family or personal life, his career, his studies or other aspects of life.

Work as a psychologist means a complete immersion in the inner world of his client. That is why such specialists are most often employed in medical institutions as a consultant. For some time, psychologists must necessarily work in schools, kindergartens and universities. Their specific work is called the psychologist-educator. By their actions, such employees tell teachers how to properly conduct a dialogue with the students, so as not to disturb the delicate children's psyche.

Psychiatrist

A psychiatrist is a doctor who graduated from a medical higher education institution. This is a person who occupies a position exclusively in hospitals and polyclinics. So, he puts diagnoses and writes out medicines. The sphere of his activity is limited to diseases of the central nervous system and psyche. He diagnoses such ailments as schizophrenia, hallucinations, split personality and others.

The psychologist and psychiatrist often work together. So, a psychologist with deep depression can send a psychiatrist to an outpatient treatment. After all, this condition is fraught with very serious consequences, and to prevent them, you need medications.

Psychotherapist

Very close in meaning to the concept - a psychotherapist. If you understand what a psychiatrist differs from a psychologist, it is not so difficult already, then the therapist often causes confusion. In fact, this is an expert who deals with mental disorders in people and treats them with various non-medicament methods. If the psychiatrist writes out a healing pill, the therapist will hold a conversation.

Literally from Greek, "psychotherapy" is translated as "treatment by the soul." It differs significantly from the specialization of a psychologist, because it deals with deeper problems, but does not use medicines, as a psychiatrist does.

The methods of treatment of psychotherapists include:

• Hypnosis.
• Psychoanalysis.
• Art therapy.
• Neuro-linguistic programming.
• Game therapy.
• Nondirective hypnosis and others.

Activities of psychologist

Classes with a psychologist - this is the main tool that the specialist uses during his activities. They can be individual or group, conducted directly at the place of work of a specialist or be on the road. A special area is classes with children. They are held in different age groups. And this direction is subordinated to two strategies. The first is simple consultations to create conditions for comfortable studies, and the second is a behavioral correction of relations in the team, communications or personal problems of the teenager.

The help of a psychologist to married couples involves conducting classes individually with the couple or simultaneously with two. In each case, the specialist chooses the direction of the classes that are appropriate for a particular problem. All his decisions he takes, based on his personal experience and practical recommendations of other colleagues.

Reasons for applying to a psychologist

Occasions that would cause a person to seek help can be a huge amount. For example, such a specialist is necessarily present in the women's consultation and in the hospital. Pregnant ladies can experience enormous stress associated with personal problems, and then consultation and support are simply necessary. Many problems also arise after childbirth. In medicine, there is even such a thing as postpartum depression. But, in addition, people turn to psychologists with the following problems:

1. Dissatisfaction with yourself and your life.
2. Constant stress at work, which lead to depression.
3. Disorder in family life.
4. Lack of support and understanding from adults. The problem most often occurs in adolescents. Such help often becomes a salvation from suicide.
5. Difficulties with adaptation in primary school.
6. Post-traumatic complications.
7. Psychological support for incurable and complex diseases.

Activities of a psychiatrist

If the work of a psychologist involves simple consultations with children or adults, then the psychiatrist has a more difficult task. It is very difficult to make a correct diagnosis with deviations in the psyche. As a rule, long-term monitoring of the patient is necessary. Patients with schizophrenia, for example, do not realize this, and often behave quite adequately.

To put the correct diagnosis help the tests of a psychiatrist. There are a lot of them. The patient is offered to answer or to a number of questions concerning general topics, or to make a personal portrait. A separate direction is associated with associations. So, the person is shown specially designed pictures resembling spots, and are asked to explain what object in this can be discerned. Associative tests help identify people who are prone to aggression or suicide.

Medical tests

In addition to intellectual tests, a psychiatrist necessarily examines the inner state of a person. This can be judged by the results of the following procedures:

1. Biochemical examination. The content of this or that element in the blood can talk about various neuropsychiatric complications.
2. Endocrinology examination. Hormonal disorders can cause depression, panic fear, psychosis.
3. Immunological tests. Often, the cause of mental disorders are viruses, especially those that are sexually transmitted.
4. Toxicological studies. It can be not necessarily drugs or pills. Violations of the brain cause poisoning with industrial or household chemicals, heavy metals or hazardous waste.
5. Electroencephalogram - drawing on paper curves of the brain.
6. Polysomnography is also EEG, but it is applied during the deep sleep stage. Allows you to identify a variety of diseases that are difficult to diagnose during wakefulness of the patient.
7. Nuclear magnetic tomography. This is the most modern method for diagnosing brain problems. Allows you to see even the smallest details that will not catch the EEG. With it, you can detect cancer at the earliest stages and prevent a stroke.

The result

So, let's sum up the difference between a psychiatrist and a psychologist. The first specialist is a person with a higher medical education. He uses the clinical methods of diagnosing and prescribes medication. The psychologist deals with counseling and has nothing to do with medicine. He is a philologist, and his work is closely connected with pedagogy.