Brains and Doors Update

In my previous post, I stated that I had no idea what the difference between a psychiatrist and therapist was. Courtesy of "Dr. Bob" from my beloved, Yahoo! Answers.

Psychologist: 4 years college, 2 years Masters degree, 4 years doctroral deedgree (Ph.D. = Doctror of Philosophy, Psy.D. = Doctor of Psychology) Internship. Supervision. Cannot prescribe medications. Will sit and talk with you for a 50-minute-hour about your problems, offer suggestions, support andf encourage you, etc. Has a specific body of knowledge on which to base his/her work, called a "school" of psychology: Freudian psycho-analysis (although usually this will be a psychiatrist), Jungian Analyst (many clergy have Jungian training), Adlerian Individual Pshychology (most influential of the three on modern psychology, basis for most other therapies including Cognitive Therapy.)

Psychiatrist: 4 years college, 2 years masters degree, 4 years Medical school, 2 year specialization in psychiatry (sometimes in connection with a doctoral degree in psychology, so they are MD/PhD), internship, supervision. Can prescribe medications and one criticism of some is that they depend too much on med and not enough on talking, support, etc.

Social Worker: 4 years college 2-3 years School of Social Work. Many schools seem heavily influenced by Freud. Some social workers have private therapy practice, others work in social work settings.Clergy: 4 years college, 4 years graduate theological school; ordained; thinnk "mainstream" denominations.

Clergy who are trained in psychotherapy do NOT get involved in religion or spiritual matters unless that's what the client comes in for. Othersiwse they are trained and conduct therapy pretty much on a paer with psychologist. Problem: No third-part/insurance payments accepted.