Is there a need for Psychiatry? (please read on, I am NOT Anti-Psychology)?

9 Comments »

FrallyFolds said:

Interesting question.
Because, I would say, medical doctors have much more information about psychopharmacology, and medicine. A Psychiatrist has a specialty..and he/she studies (mostly) which medicines are BEST for those who require medicines for psychological disorders. General doctors don’t have that sort of specialty.
- 28 November 2009 at 12:08 am
rayk469 said:

The “need” is always the same: money. That’s what the entire psych business is about. Why they have been afforded the cloak of respectability is beyond me. I would remind you that these are the people responsible for frontal lobotomies and shock therapy. They don’t even have to go to jail for their butchery.
- 30 November 2009 at 8:26 am
oscbox said:

Most “general physicians” do not want to get too involved in prescribing psychiatric medications. Therefore they send you to a specialist to manage the disorder just like a cardiologist or any other area of medicine. Psychologists certainly have a place in treatment, but they are not trained in the medical aspects.
- 30 November 2009 at 11:33 pm
Selina Kyle7 said:

Yes, there is definitely a need for psychiatry.
General physicians do study psychology, but only in brief. Psychiatrists attend medical school and have a deeper understanding of how specific drugs can interact with the body and will better suited (having completed a residency in psychiatry for years, not just general medicine which does not focus on this area of expertise) to diagnose and prescribe medication for mentally ill patients. Psychologists are excellent for therapy and have a much lower billing rate than psychiatrists. See a psychiatrist if referred by your physician or psychologist as she or he can prescribe medicine as needed.
- 4 December 2009 at 6:36 am
mountain_laurel1183 said:

a lot of psychologists do that. My husband saw a psychologist who gave him a note to give to a regular family dr. There is a movement to allow clinical psychologists to prescribe psychotropic medications, but it will probably be years before that happens. I think it needs to happen because psychiatrists cannot treat a person holistically, all they can do is give meds. Most people need therapy AND medication, and there is no guarantee that a person will get therapy once they are on meds.
- 6 December 2009 at 3:18 pm
beck said:

Having had some therapy myself, I totally get what you are saying. I prefer a psychologist b/c they listen more closely to what you are saying and to what your needs are. They try to help us learn how to overcome whatever it is that is going on in our lives. Sometimes psychiatrists are too quick to put patients on medicine without really fixing the problem.
- 8 December 2009 at 12:59 am
sterling roses said:

You are a little misinformed about the specialization of psychiatry. They are required to do a year’s rotation in Neurology as well as two years in Psychiatry, beyond their pre-med and medical school and residency programs. A Neurologist does just the opposite: one year Psychiatry, two years Neurology in their specialization time. These are added years, not regular doctor years. A general physician has a special need for the regular maladies of life, but does not have the ability, nor the wish, to figure out the psycho-pharmacology of a mental illness, because it involves receptors in the brain (Neurology) and medicines that will interact efficiently with the symptoms presented (Psychiatry).
No psychiatrist is going to tell you NOT to get talk therapy (Psychologist), because the meds and the behavior modification that comes with talk therapy are sometimes the key to a person’s symptom remission. General Practitioners are not equipped to handle this sort of milieu, and any that say they are, are fooling you.
- 8 December 2009 at 8:32 pm
jayjay5844 said:

My sister is a psycologist. I wouldn’t let her talk to anyone in my family who had a problem after seeing how she spoils her rotten kids. She doesn’t know a thing. She’d tell the doctor to give you an overdose because she didn’t like the way you dressed.
- 10 December 2009 at 2:37 pm
christy said:

Yes, a licensed psychologist can diagnose you and inform your prescribing doctor of your diagnosis in order to assist the choice of medication, if that’s what you want. Many disorders are as effectively treated without meds or most effectively treated with a combo of meds and therapy, like CBT.
It’s true that psychologists receive more clinical training and coursework in the mental health field, but they are less familiar with the medication aspect since they, for the most part, do not prescribe. Currently, psychologists with certain extra training can prescribe in Louisiana and New Mexico and other states have been trying to pass similar laws.
Also, psychologists do many other things that psychiatrists aren’t trained to do, such as administer and interpret certain psych assessments. Check out the APA.org if you’re interested in learning more about psychology.
- 12 December 2009 at 11:59 am

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