The Pasotral handbook of Mental Illness, a Look Inside

Question 37. Psychiatrist and Psychologist--What’s the Difference?

A Psychiatrist is a medical doctor with additional specialty in psychiatry. He is able to prescribe medications that treat mental illness.

A Psychologist is a person who has been educated in studying human behavior and specializes in counselingand other facets of mental illness.

Psychiatrists are very important in the treatment of mental illness.  They mostly do not practice therapy anymore. Mostly, this is because insurance companies will accept billing for no more than fifteen to thirty minutes (except for the initial diagnostic work up and crisis intervention).

Another part of this biological revolution which continues to be the standard for mental illness was the book, Mood Swings, the Third Revolution in Psychiatry by Dr. Ronald Fieve.[i]  Dr. Peter D. Kramer, who was a medical doctor (trained as a psychiatrist) tells his readers in his book,  Listening To Prozac, how medications gave way to therapy in his practice.  He was ridiculed by many psychiatric therapists who were still Freudian Therapists and Neo-Freudians which minimizes the biological nature of mental illness. He writes in his book, Listening to Prozac how his patients chided him for not doing less therapeutic interventions and more biological ones. [ii]

The number of psychiatrists is decreasing in the United States. In my practice, I do the assessment and therapy and then go directly to the psychiatrist. This saves horrifying suffering since the primary mental illness needs medications and needs them as quickly as possible.

Please note that we do not minimize the importance of counseling. I have been a counselor/therapist for many years.  My counseling is biblical but I also am a clinically trained pastoral counselor. My Master’s education included multiple classes at a Master of Social Work.

When a person is mentally ill they need counseling that helps them understand their mental illness. The biblical counselor must “rightly divide the word of truth.”Mental illness needs supportive counseling which explains to them that God views the illness as a trial, suffering from a mental illness will open doors for them to help others

Psychologists.

Practicing psychologists are also trained to administer and interpret a number of tests, and assessments that can help diagnose a condition or tell more about the way a person thinks, feels and behaves. These tests may evaluate intellectual skills, cognitive strengths and weaknesses, vocational aptitude and preference, personality characteristics and neuropsychological functioning

The Pastoral Handbook of Mental Illness :has been selling across the world,  since June , 2018. I will help pastor's deacons, adult Bible Fellowship teachers, and College/Seminary profressors.

Please visit our Heartfelt Counseling Ministries web  page at heartfeltmin.org

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[i]Fieve, Ronald, MD, Mood swing, the Third Revolution in Psychiatry, Mass Market Paperback, 1979

[ii] Kramer, Dr. Peter D, Penguin books, New York, NY 1993