Is there a debate on psychologist vs psychiatrist? Getting yourself quality mental health care is a life-changing decision. That’s why first-timers in therapy, counselling, and the like are confused about what mental health professional they should work with. Moreover, mental health care is an investment to a better, brighter self which is why people are choosing the best mental health professional that really can help them improve. But hey, there’s a difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist. You may know a mental health professional with one of these titles or have both titles. So what are their distinct qualities? How do they work? In this blog, we’ll delve deep into the answers to these questions of psychologist vs psychiatrist as we get to know them.
What is a Psychologist?
Generally, a psychologist is a mental health professional who specializes in the assessment of and treatment of mental health conditions. According to Find University PH, a psychologist in the Philippines is a masters graduate of Psychology who passed the Licensure Examination for Psychologists. Psychologists in the Philippines took intensive training and workshops to deliver mental health care to individuals. They also had their respective internships with the help of a qualified psychologist supervising them.
Psychologists can niche down to their interests. This means that they can choose a specialty that they can practice on. There are different fields of psychology that they can focus on. One could choose a solo specialty or two more.
What are the different types of Psychologists?
Psychologists can select what kind of psychologist they want to be and what services they offer. In this psychologist vs psychiatrist blog, we will get to know the types of psychologists. Here are the common types of psychologists and their job descriptions:
Clinical Psychologists
They are the psychologist who assess, diagnose, and treat mental health disorders. Clinical psychologists conduct psychotherapy and other treatment methods.
Organizational Psychologists
They are psychologists who research how humans function primarily in organizations. They’re mostly concerned with leadership, company management, employee set-up, workplace wellbeing, and more.
Industrial Psychologists
Often connected with Organizational Psychologists, Industrial Psychologists mainly focus on recruiting, hiring, training, and employee retention. They study workplace policies and employee behaviors to deliver recommendations for workplace wellness.
Developmental Psychologists
These are the psychologists that are specializing in human development in biological and cognitive terms. They are capable of handling research and study the development of humans as well as conduct therapy to clients with underdeveloped biological and cognitive concerns.
Behavioral Psychologist
These are the psychologists that primarily focuses on human behavior, its study, intervention methods, and more. Behavioral psychologists are equipped with different therapeutic strategies to condition behavior.
Social Psychologists
Social psychologists are the ones who study societal behaviors and processes. They work with sociologists to determine societal theories and help inforce laws on society.
So these are the common types of psychologists but when it comes to the word psychologists, clinical psychologists are more known.
Psychologists should be passionate in their preferred field so they could deliver genuine care to clients, construct effective treatment plans, follow up aftercare, and more importantly, produce quality results for clients.
What they do is to provide science-backed findings and treatment on a client or group of client’s cognitive, emotional, and social processes and challenges. When it comes to enriching psychological findings, psychologists do intensive research to discover new information or debunk old theories. Clinical Psychologists practice psychotherapy and other therapeutic techniques in order to treat clients and make their mental health better.
Clinical psychologists incorporate one technique to the next depending on their treatment plan. They usually work with mental health care workers such as mental health nurses, social workers, and even psychiatrists. As we talk about psychologist vs psychiatrist, we need to know what do psychiatrists do.
What are psychiatrists?
Psychiatrists are medical doctors who practice in mental health care. They are qualified to do diagnosis and prescribe over the counter mental health treatment drugs. Psychiatrists in the Philippines undergo additional training (aside from undergraduate or masteral) in medical school and be certified professionals to practice psychiatry.
They are usually found in medical hospitals and private healthcare offices. There are a number of public service psychiatrist who does consultations for a minimal fee or for free. Getting a private psychiatrist’s prescription may cost a sum more than a public psychiatrist.
As for psychologist vs psychiatrist, psychologists are far cheaper than psychiatrists as their scope of work is only limited to treating non-medicinal mental health disorders. This means that psychiatrists treat complex mental health conditions through medicine, psychotherapy, and other intervention methods.
So Which Should I Pick: Psychologist vs Psychiatrist?
It depends on your mental health needs. If you have struggles in life that require talk therapy or personal development, you will benefit from working with a psychologist. However, if there are mental health symptoms that need medical attention, it’s best to get yourself a psychiatrist. You can find nearby psychiatrists in your area or look up famous ones on search engines.
MPsych Services: Your Mental Health Partner
If you ever want to improve your mental health through non-invasive talk therapy, MPsych Services has professional psychologists for you. You can check how to book a session with the following steps:
- On the website, click the “Book a Counselling Session” – you will be redirected to a page where you can see a list of psychologists.
- Select your psychologist – hover around the list and choose one psychologist that you feel could help you be better. Select a schedule for you to meet the psychologist.
- Fill out your information – you have to type down your name and other personal details so that we would be able to know a bit about yourself.
- Pay the upfront fee – a reasonable price will be set for you. You can pay via Gcash and other partner payment platforms.
A confirmation email will be sent to you and inform you of your scheduled therapy session. For booking online counselling, check out our latest news and offerings.