What are the principle differences between what a psychiatrist does and what a psychologist does?

satguru

This is a very simple one. A psychiatrist is a doctor, then studies extra. He only deals with mental illness and only they can prescribe pills. A chartered (in UK) psychologist takes a Masters degree and joins the British psychological society (BPS) on passing. They can specialise in all sorts of human behaviour, and only clinical psychologists deal with mental illness, and give all the same treatments except prescribing. Many others teach, research or work in companies. I'll add #3 psychotherapists (my own profession) to be complete. They have to be registered in many countries, but not in the UK. There are no official qualifications, only professional memberships, and courses range from a weekend to 5 years (I did 3 plus home study afterwards). We are similar to counsellors, we see people without mental illnesses but problems, and psychotherapists go into more depth than counsellors, often seeing people more often and for longer. Jan 28 04, 1:37 PM