*important questions about my career path*

[ILoveKnowledge]

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Hello all. I am interested in psychology/psychiatry as a career path and had some questions and would appreciate feedback (esp. from professionals) if possible.

I am most interested in psychology and I feel I really have a good sense of people because of the things I have been through with my OCD/ADHD. I know there are a lot of differences between psychology/psychiatry; but I wanted to get some feedback on the major differences as a career profession.

I enjoy very much the study of the brain as well; and that is an area I would like to study more (and possibly become involved with) even once I am a psychologist/psychiatrist.

Can anyone expound more on the possibilities/opportunities etc. within these two fields (depending) on which I chose for a career path. I know a major difference is the psychiatrist can prescribe medicine; but are they on the same level or advanced on a psychological level or do they (more) strictly base it on scientific text on the brain?

I have done a lot of research on the internet; but I want to get as much/many details possible from people within the field themselves. Thank you very much for your time and help with this matter.


-S.K.D.

 

[CheetahGirl]

Hey ILoveKnowledge:

Your best bet is to search this forum for threads on the comparison. Most people will not have time to expound on the possibilities/experiences between the two professions (because it's been discussed already ad nauseum). That said, I have insomnia tonight – so I'll offer my opinions.

I've found that the training is very different - I'm halfway through my PhD in clinical psych and currently in an externship in a large urban medical center that also trains psychiatric residents. For clinical psychology, you focus on psychotherapy, assessment and helping patients learn tools (i.e. interpersonal or intrapsychic) that will assist in managing their difficulties. From where I sit, the psychiatric residents are managing the patient from a different viewpoint (including, but -of course -not limited to, symptom relief). Somehow we meet in the middle to discuss diagnoses, treatments and prognoses. As a PhD student, we also study the "scientific text on the brain." It's important to understand the science behind any individual's cognitions, emotions, and behavior. My knowledge of human physiology is limited to my individual studies as a pre-med undergrad (i.e. I received no advance training on the synthesis of enzymes unless I sought it personally). In my opinion, the fields complement one another, but are not a substitute for each other. I know patients that have only psychiatrists and need therapists, and vice versa.

The beautiful thing about clinical psychology is if you discover that you'd like to focus on a subject, such a neurobiology of schizophrenia and work with that population…it becomes your focus and eventually your specialty.

Hope that helps. 😎

 

[Psy01]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=9919221

 

[ILoveKnowledge]

thank you so much for the reply. 🙂