Posted by Emily Elizabeth on April 19, 2006, at 22:19:16
In reply to the term 'psychopharmacologist' vs 'psychiatrist', posted by saturn on April 19, 2006, at 16:26:37
Okay, I must admit that I am getting way too angry to finish reading the article. My main issue is this: he keeps refering to lesser trained non-physicians providing psychotherapy. While it is true that other mental health professionals (a much more appropriate and less condescending term) are not compensated as well as physicians, it is NOT true that they are not as well trained. In fact, folks who are psychologists w/ PhD's or PsyD's are trained for as long as psychiatrists, BUT instead of 4 years of general medical school stuff prior to a residency, psychologists spend that length of time focusing on psychological development, mental health issues, and practicing psychotherapy. So, it could be argued that PhD's are actually MORE trained than MD's to provide non-medication-based services.
If given the choice b/t a PhD and an MD for psychotherapy, I would certainly pick the PhD. It is a shame that pdoc's have been reduced to writing rx's, but it is the reality of the situation. At this point in time, w/ a few exceptions, pdocs are not well-trained in providing therapy.
And for the record, clinical psychology PhD programs are statistically MUCH harder to get in to than med schools.
(Any guesses as to what career path I chose?)
Best,
EE
poster:Emily Elizabeth
thread:634845
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060417/msgs/635010.html