Posted by jack smith on May 8, 2003, at 19:34:10
In reply to Re: Pdocs, posted by stjames on May 8, 2003, at 18:58:20
> take a look:
>
> http://www.psychologyinfo.com/shrink.htm
>
> It is my understanding this is changing,
> but given the length of a mediacal training
> JUST to be a medical doc, 8 years, there is not time for training in depth on psychological issues.Perhaps things have changed since my psychiatrist went to school (the mid '80s). He absolutely did talk therapy in residency after one year of work doing general medicine in residency (psychiatrists are also required to do that). Maybe Dr. Bob knows? But, I don't see how you can draw such a clear cut line between "psychological" and "medical". Psychotherapy at one time was thought to be the only effective "medical" treatment for mental illness. No doubt this was incorrect but I think it is equally incorrect to say that drugs are the only "medical" treatment for mental illness.
Also, there are still PLENTY of PSYCHIATRISTS (yes, MD's) who perform only talk therapy or talk therapy in conjunction with medication. One of the reasons that talk therapy has declined so much in the last decade is that HMO's find it much cheaper to just have psychiatrists throw drugs at people. MOst psychiatrists--with many notable excpetions--these days to me are nothing but glorified pharmacists.
JACK
poster:jack smith
thread:225122
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030505/msgs/225225.html