Therapy and psychiatry are two occupations that work under the same health issues. Both these occupations are linked to the development of a person’s mental health. Therapists and psychiatrists deal with cases that have a lot of similarities. However, there’s a big difference between a therapist and a psychiatrist. They’re totally different from one another. A lot of people with problems related to mental wellbeing have doubts about who they should visit to conquer their health-related problems, a therapist or a psychiatrist?. For this, a person should understand their problem and find out who will be capable of resolving their issue. Therefore knowing the difference between a therapist and a psychiatrist can be very important.
Table of Contents
Let’s Discuss the differences between a therapist and a psychiatrist separately.
Who is a therapist?
Therapists are a group of professionals who mainly focuses on all things related to our psychosocial behavior such as emotions, our thoughts, and our behaviors, etc. Moreover, they study the science of behavior and mental process. They help us maintain our relationship between brain function and the environment and build up our psychological health.
Basically, when you’re physically hurt your family doctor helps you to feel better physically. In the same way, the therapist helps you to feel better when you’re sad, worried, frustrated, and when you go through different kinds of emotions due to stressful situations in your day-to-day life. Moreover, they help us with a huge variety of mental illnesses and emotional difficulties. In fact, a therapist is emotionally available and is considered to be a person whom one feels comfortable talking to about their problem.
Most of the therapists are qualified through graduating therapy programs which take about four years to complete. Moreover, they should complete a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in psychology and obtain the license to work as therapists. There are different types of therapists that treat patients according to the stream of psychology they studied. Most therapists treat people of all age groups and some are specialized in different areas. A few of them are listed below,
- Behavioral therapists.
- Addiction therapists.
- Child therapists
- Clinical therapists
- Cognitive-behavioral therapists
All the therapists provide you with suitable psychosocial treatments and coach you to a better way of life.
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Who is a psychiatrist?
Psychiatry is a part of medical science that focuses on the mental health of a person. They diagnose mental illnesses and find preventive and curative treatments. A psychiatrist is a qualified doctor with a Ph.D. in medical science and years of residency training. Moreover, they are specialized in treating the mental, physical, and emotional health of a person. In fact, they are the only professionals with both biological and psychological training in mental health.
Psychiatry is not just about helping the patient to build up confidence and to maintain emotional balance with good social behavior. A psychiatrist deal with major mental illness that would need accurate treatment and sometimes surgery if needed. They diagnose physical illnesses that are related to mental health. For example brain tumors, Brain cancers, etc. They prescribe medication according to the diagnosis.
Furthermore, Psychiatrists are people with a depth of knowledge about almost all illnesses related to brain functioning. The brain is one of the most important organs which controls all the functions of the body. So psychiatrists work with major issues which could affect the whole life of a patient. They not only work with behavioral and psychosocial changes but changes in the physical capabilities of a person.
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Who should you see, a therapist or a psychiatrist?
Now we know about the work done in both occupations. More importantly, we should understand the difference between a therapist and a psychiatrist. It would be a great help to find out which person will be suitable to provide solutions to your mental health issues.
Generally, your issue is mostly about your interpersonal relationships, family life, behavioral pattern, and social interactions. And if you’re dealing with emotional unbalance when performing day-to-day activities, going through anxiety, depression, and stressful situations due to challenges you face in life, meeting a therapist would be beneficial for you. You can open up about how you feel and participate in therapy sessions. It can be a great help to bring back your life to normal.
In therapy, you can find three main treatments,
- Psychiatric meditation
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy
- Psychotherapy
Through these methods and using many other strategies, therapists could provide solutions to your mental issues. A therapist can help you put your life back together in a sustainable manner.
Unlike in therapy, psychiatry treats a lot of illnesses characterized by severe and enduring mental disorders. This can include disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, eating disorders, personality disorders, and risk of self–harm, etc. It’s not just about providing patients with psychosocial treatments. Psychiatrists treat very serious mental illnesses that would need prescribed medications and intensive care. They provide you with a combination of biological, psychological, and social treatments depending on what the patient needs.
Most psychiatrists treat patients of all age groups and few of them have selected separate pathways of psychiatry. Few of them are,
- Child or Adolescent psychiatry
- Geriatric psychiatry
- Forensic psychiatry
Moreover, they do not just provide you with prescribed medications. They provide you with whole treatment packages that include medications, socially interacting with the patient, and making sure the patient is feeling comfortable in their living environment. So that it completes the mental, physical, social, and spiritual wellbeing of a person.
However, both therapists and psychiatrists are in a position where they get to interact with the patients very well. And they get to know people in a very authentic way. Through both occupations, they get to help a lot of people to make their day-to-day life easier.
Summary
I wanted to briefly express the facts on the difference between a therapist and a psychiatrist. It’s important to understand the difference between the two occupations to get proper solutions to your problems. And more importantly both these occupations do a great service in uplifting the mental health of people.
