[determinedtowin]

I want to be a therapist but not a psychiatrist. That would mean I couldn't give out medication. I wonder if that would limit the amount of possible clients. I have never tried medication and it would take a lot for me to consider trying it. I like to think I can overcome this on my own. I think it would be so much more satisfying to think I changed myself completely on my own. Like I didn't just pop a pill and wait to get better. From the one time I have tried medication, I absolutely hated it. It made me feel so much more anxious and suicidal. Do you see a psychologist or a psychiatrist or both? Which would you prefer and what has been your experience seeing one or the other?

Psychologists don't deal with medications, so it wouldn't limit the amount of clients you get because psychologists and psychiatrists have very different roles. People go to psychologists for therapy, and they see psychiatrists for medications and diagnoses ... if they booked an appointment with a psychologist they wouldn't expect to be prescribed medication. I see a psychiatrist because i see my primary disorder as being very biological ... and i have never found psychological input beneficial ... but obviously it depends on the patient and their needs. I think psychologists are great if the problem the patient has is based on experiences/dysfunctional thinking etc .... whereas psychiatrists are better at dealing with biological disorders ... but there's some overlap.