Psychology vs. Psychiatry

You asked me earlier to write about the difference between psychology and psychiatry. I consider it a good idea, even more, as psychology is going to become more and more interesting. People who are interested in personal development they begin to listen, read, talk about psychology.

What is Psychiatry?

Most people know who is psychiatrist: “is a doctor who gives drugs to people who have problems with head or nerves”.

Psychiatrist is visited by people who have a strange behavior, they become unable to care for themselves, who can’t be controlled, who can’t live with other people because they harm them or even try to commit suicide.

Then they go to a psychiatrist, who gives drugs and prescripts home treatment or hospitalize them. Examples of mental diseases that are or can be treated by a psychiatrist: major depression, schizophrenia, alcoholism, etc.

What do psychotherapy and psychological counseling mean?

In recent years, at least in large cities, it was a normal thing that people go to psychologist ( I refer to psychotherapy or counseling). Psychiatrists, sometimes, send their patients to therapy. What does it mean to go to a psychologist? When is it good to do this?

Psychologist can practice:

a)      Psychotherapy

1. Mental ill people – who are sent by psychiatrist because of their serious state (after being treated with drugs, they think lucid and are able to respond to therapy.)

For example: a person with a major depression, who is/was under medicine and for who is recommended psychotherapy besides drugs.

2. Mental ill people – who are at the start line of illness or aren’t grown up. For example: a person with an easy depression who can be treated with psychotherapy without using drugs.

b)      Counseling

3. Normal people – who have minor problems in their lives, but there problems don’t let them to have a life as they want.

For example: people who have low self confidence, people who want to pass a process of self – knowledge, people who want to adapt to stress, people who have nightmares, etc.

A simple problem can become complex and major later, if is not solved properly.

Specialized areas, described above, deal with more serious stages of a problem:

1. counseling helps to solve minor problems, which everybody has (or may have)
2. psychotherapy helps to get over big problems that are (or become) mental illness
3. Psychiatry and psychotherapy solve the most serious cases, which already are mental diseases and can’t be treated just by the psychologist.

Another difference between a psychiatrist and psychologist is:

People usually are sent to psychiatrist or are taken by others and less of them go by their own will. To psychologist, person goes by herself, (if not, then therapy will not have any effect), when she feels that she needs help and wants to solve a problem.