What is the difference between a Psychiatrist and a Psychotherapist?

What is a Psychiatrist?

A psychiatrist has been trained as a medical doctor. After the training and house jobs, doctors often specialize in a certain area. The training for a psychiatrist is the MRCPsych. Some psychiatrists work in the NHS, but most are self employed and in private practice; there are also a number of mental health organizations in the UK. Psychiatrists diagnose and treat mental disorders using counseling and medication. Some psychiatrists also using psychotherapy but this is rare.

Psychiatrists treat a wide range of psychological conditions. The following is a list of categories treated by psychiatrists. Where the clasifier is not self explanitory, I have added examples. The list is a simplification of the categorization in DSM IV (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). The author has simplified this so that clients can get a full understanding of the role of the psychiatrist without having to read pages of material.

MENTAL RETARDATION

LEARNING DISORDERS

MOTOR SKILLS DISORDER

COMMUNICATION DISORDERS (including stuttering, expressive language disorder)

PERVASIVE DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS (including Autism, Rett’s Asperger’s)

ATTENTION-DEFICIT AND DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOUR DISORDERS (including ADHD)

FEEDING AND EATING DISORDERS OF INFANCY OR EARLY CHILDHOOD (including Pica)

TIC DISORDERS (Including Tourette’s, chronic motor or vocal tic disorders)   

ELIMINATION DISORDERS (including enuresis and encopresis)

OTHER DISORDERS OF INFANCY, CHILDHOOD, or ADOLESCENCE (inlcuding separation anxiety disorder)

DELIRIUM

DEMENTIA

AMNESTIC DISORDERS

OTHER COGNITIVE DISORDERS

ALCOHOL RELATED DISORDERS

AMPHETAMINE INDUCED DISORDERS

CAFFEINE RELATED DISORDERS

CANNABIS RELATED DISORDERS

COCAINE RELATED DISORDERS

HALLUCINOGEN RELATED DISORDERS

INHALANT RELATED DISORDERS

NICOTINE RELATED DISORDERS

OPIOID RELATED DISORDERS

PHENCYCLIDINE RELATED DISORDERS

SEDATIVE, HYPNOTIC OR ANXIOLYTIC RELATED DISORDERS

POLYSUBSTANCE RELATED DISORDERS

SCHIZOPHRENIA AND OTHER PSYCHOTIC DISORDERS (including schizophrenia, delusional disorders, psychotic disorders) 

MOOD DISORDERS

DEPRESSION

BIPOLAR DISORDERS

ANXIETY DISORDERS (including panic disorders with or without agoraphobia, social phobia, specific phobias, OCD, PTSD) 

SOMATOFORM DISORDERS (including pain disorders, conversion disorders, hypochondriasis)

FACTITIOUS DISORDERS

DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS (including dissociative amensia, fugue states, depersonalization disorder)

SEXUAL DYSFUNCTIONS/Sexual Disorders (including orgasmic disorders, sexual desire disorders, sexual pain disorders)

PARAPHILIAS (including exhibitionism, fetshism, frotteurism, sexual masochism, pedophilia)

GENDER IDENTITY DISORDERS

EATING DISORDERS (including anorexia and bulmia)

SLEEP DISORDERS (including insomnia, narcolepsy, breathing related disorders, sleep walking, night terrors, nightmares)

ADJUSTMENT DISORDERS

PERSONALITY DISORDERS (including paranoia, schizoid personality disorder, boderline personality disorder, narcissistic personality disorder, histrionic personality disorder, obsessive compulsive personality disorder) 

MEDICATION INDUCED MOVEMENT DISORDERS (including neuroleptic induced Parkinsonism)

RELATIONAL DISORDERS (between family members)

OTHER PSYCHOSOMATIC PROBLEMS

PROBLEMS RELATING TO ABUSE AND NEGLECT (childhood abuse, physical abuse) 

Mant psychiatrists specialize in certain fields–for instance, child and adolescent work, eating disorders, PTSD, forensic psychiatry–while others use psychotherapy to enahnce their work. Most psychiatrists prescribe medication in order to help patients to manage problems. Drugs are also useful because they can help people to break a cycle of behaviour which, in turn, helps them to lead a more controlled and adaptive life after treatment. 

What is a Psychotherapist?

A psychotherapist does not prescibe medication. Psychotherapists work with many of the conditions above. In fact, they work with the full gamut of psychologically conditions; however, with the exception of some Jungian psychologists, and some other specialized analysts, they do not work with clients on the psychotic spectrum.

At London Hypnotherapy UK and London Psychotherapy, we prefer not to prescribe drugs; the main reason for this is that we feel that it is important to get to the heart of the matter–to find the source of the problem, with using medication.  

Psychotherapy is a dual process between therapist and client (or patient). The trained psychotherapist helps the client to deal with problems in life–past, present or in the future.

The following is a list of the types of psychotherapy: 

Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy

Cognitive behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

Existential Therapy

Humanistic Therapy

Person Centred Psychotherapy 

Brief Psychotherapy

Systemic Psychotherapy

Marriage counseling

Transpersonal Therapy

Dr David Kraft, at London Psychotherapy, is an independent psychotherapist who uses a combination of Freudian, Person Centred Psychotherapy and Object Relations Theory. 

For an appointment, please phone 0207 467 8564 today.

Dr David Kraft is a specialist psychotherapist and hypnotherapist. He is ased at 10 Halrey Street, London, W1G 9PF.