Posted by Cam W. on February 18, 2000, at 22:49:41
In reply to Re: Psychopharmocologists v Psychiatrists. , posted by Elizabeth on February 18, 2000, at 21:28:09
> > I will agree that for problems to do not mean long term therapy a pdoc is fine but no Pdoc that I have ever seen in 15 yrs ca or will do the kind of in depth disection of personality and behavior like a psycholigist.
>
> James, before 1985 or so, all the psychoanalysts in this country were MDs. In any case, I don't think taking classes is primarily what makes a person a good talk therapist; rather, it's supervised experience, which psychiatrists and clinical psychologists certainly get plenty of.
>
> I don't think clinical psychologists have a good enough understanding of medication that they would necessarily be a good fit for someone who takes meds. IME, they tend to attribute mood and behavior changes to environmental factors (rather than to the medication or to the illness itself), even when it doesn't make much sense to do so.All - I don't understand this debate, Would not a psychopharmacologist be a pharmacologist with a postgraduate specialty in neurophysiology. A pharmacology undergraduate would train in the Faculty of Pharmacy & the Pharmaceutical Sciences and then go on to study the mechanisms of the brain and its relation to the effects of medicinal chemical substances. This person would not need to know how to diagnose (psychiatrist) or do psychotherapy (psychologist), but would need just a basic understanding of the principles of these diciplines. He/she wouldn't need to know these arts in depth. I believe a good psychopharmacologist would need more than just the basics of drug pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, biochemistry, microbiology, medicinal chemistry, etc. to be able to do his job. These fields are more likely to intensively covered under the umbrella of Pharmacy than Medicine or Psychology. This is how I see it. It may be right, it may be wrong, but I'd put my money on a good pharmacist over a good psychiatrist or a good psychologist on the topic of pharmacotherapy, any day. To build the solidest house, you have to begin with the strongest foundation.....Rebuttals would be appreciated, please. - Cam W.
poster:Cam W.
thread:21801
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000209/msgs/22356.html