Both deal with mental health – but what is the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist? You can find everything you need to know in this article.
Colloquially, they are often used interchangeably, but there are important differences between mental health professions. We explain what distinguishes psychologists, psychiatrists and psychotherapists.
Shortly:
- A psychologist has studied psychology and is not automatically a doctor. He or she can undertake further training in order to treat patients, or work without further training, for example as a psychological consultant in companies.
- A psychiatrist has studied medicine and can diagnose and treat mental health problems and prescribe medication.
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Only those who have an approbation, i.e. a professional license, can call themselves psychotherapists. How this can be obtained is regulated in the Psychotherapist Act. You can treat mental disorders, such as eating disorders.
That’s what a psychologist does
If someone calls themselves a psychologist, this person must have completed a degree in psychology, because the term is legally protected. So these people spent three to five years dealing with psychology, the science of thinking, feeling and behavior. This gives them a lot of knowledge about how people learn, behave and how they deal with their feelings and thoughts.
The difference between a psychologist and a psychotherapist is that only the latter are allowed to treat people. Because studying psychology alone does not qualify you to treat people with mental illnesses, so psychologists are not doctors.
If psychologists want to treat people, they must have completed both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree, with the focus of the master’s again playing an important role. Once they have done this, they can work as psychotherapists through additional, multi-year therapeutic training and the completion of the associated examination.
Without this additional training, they can work in different areas, for example in research, marketing, as a psychological consultant or in human resources departments.
These are the tasks of a psychiatrist
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The difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist also lies in the qualifications and powers: A psychiatrist must also have studied, but medicine. In contrast to psychologists, these physicians have dealt with the functioning of the body and the effects of medication on it during their studies. They are doctors after their studies.
If they then want to work in the field of psychiatry and psychotherapy after their studies, they must complete further training to become a specialist. Once the corresponding examination has been completed, they can work as psychiatrists.
Psychiatrists also have different powers than psychotherapists.
- On the one hand, this includes medical diagnostics: Psychiatrists are trained to determine the physical and medical causes of mental illnesses and disorders.
- On the other hand, psychiatrists deal with the treatment and research of mental illnesses. They therefore have permission to prescribe medication, which a psychotherapist is not allowed to do.
- However, a psychiatrist rarely offers psychotherapy, which is typically offered by psychotherapists.
That’s what a psychotherapist does
If a person wants to become a psychotherapist, they must complete several years of training after studying psychology. Once this has been completed, the person can apply for state approval to practice a medical profession (approbation).
A psychotherapist can treat people with a variety of mental disorders and illnesses. These must be able to be remedied with the help of talks, therapy and other methods. Examples include anxiety disorders, depression and addictions.
The regulations on who may become a psychotherapist and how the process works are regulated in the Psychotherapist Act. Its change in 2020 stipulates that prospective psychotherapists must now complete a course of study with a psychotherapeutic orientation and no longer just post-graduate psychotherapeutic training.
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