Hi all! I'm new to this part of SDN. I typically lurk in the psychology forums. Throughout undergrad and up until a couple months ago, I had been in pursuit of gaining admittance to a Clinical Psych Ph.D. program, hoping to become a clinician and researcher. However, my sister-in-law who recently finished her residency (in an unrelated field) expressed to me that she was always surprised that I wanted to go the psychologist route vs. the psychiatrist route. I told her I wanted to do psychotherapy with my patients, not just med management because I felt that I would not be able to develop a significant relationship with them in 15 minute sessions. She told me that while many psychiatrists do primarily do med management, there are some that do a large amount of psychotherapy, and that it could ultimately be up to me as a psychiatrist. Also, she could see me feeling frustrated as a psychologist by not having control over my patient's medication if their psychiatrist's decisions do not align with what I see in my patients (if that makes sense? I'm having trouble wording it). A psychiatrist's salary is obviously much higher than a clinical psychologist's so that is another tempting factor. Lastly, I would think having the education and training to understand my patients on a biological level and a psychological level would mean I would be better able to fully understand the problems they present with and how to treat them.
So, I'm hoping some of you can answer some of my questions regarding this potential change in career path.
1. I know it is more financially beneficial to do 3 15-minute med management sessions than 1 45/50-minute psychotherapy session, but if I (as a psychiatrist) am primarily doing psychotherapy (and incorporating med management) with my patients, what would my salary look like compared to a psychiatrist doing primarily med management and a psychologist doing psychotherapy? Is it a totally bad idea considering the amount of student loan debt I would be in after med school (a lot) vs. a clinical psych Ph.D. program (very little for a fully funded program with stipend)?
2. How much flexibility do I actually have in determining whether I do primarily psychotherapy or primarily med management? Obviously I would have complete control if it were my own practice, but what other settings would allow me to have this flexibility?
3. Any other concerns that I'm overlooking?
Sorry for such a long post!
So, I'm hoping some of you can answer some of my questions regarding this potential change in career path.
1. I know it is more financially beneficial to do 3 15-minute med management sessions than 1 45/50-minute psychotherapy session, but if I (as a psychiatrist) am primarily doing psychotherapy (and incorporating med management) with my patients, what would my salary look like compared to a psychiatrist doing primarily med management and a psychologist doing psychotherapy? Is it a totally bad idea considering the amount of student loan debt I would be in after med school (a lot) vs. a clinical psych Ph.D. program (very little for a fully funded program with stipend)?
2. How much flexibility do I actually have in determining whether I do primarily psychotherapy or primarily med management? Obviously I would have complete control if it were my own practice, but what other settings would allow me to have this flexibility?
3. Any other concerns that I'm overlooking?
Sorry for such a long post!