There are usually doubts when we talk about mental health, there is a tendency to confuse the care provided by a psychologist and a psychiatrist. However, both branches focus on the same thing, although they differ in several aspects when treated.
What is psychology?
It is a discipline of the social sciences that is responsible for studying the mental processes in people. Its name is derived from the Greek word (Psycho) which means mental activity , and (logia) is the study of. Specifically, it refers to the study of a person’s mental activity.
Its main objective is to try to understand the behaviors and attitudes of people based on their mental processes, observing the relationship they have with their environment . Psychology is divided into various branches such as social, industrial, clinical, physiological and experimental .
Clinical psychology is one of the most relevant, its main function is to study and help people who have problems leading their lives in a normal way due to a mental disorder. Another important branch is labor, which tries to solve situations that damage the work area by looking for the causes that cause it.
What is psychiatry?
Its meaning comes from the Greek words (psyche) that refers to the mind and soul , (atria) means healing. Basically it is considered the healing of the mind . It is a branch of medicine that is responsible for diagnosing and following up on a treatment in question of a mental illness.
Its main function is to look for the causes , which can be of organic and inorganic origin , normally they are generated by being in an inadequate social environment. Here the administration of a biological type is allowed, which can be electric shocks and medicines to directly influence the biochemistry of the brain.
Difference Between Psychology and Psychiatry
- The main function of psychology is to study the situations and emotions of a person, while psychiatry studies the biological causes of mental pathologies.
- The psychologist must study a degree in order to later specialize in the desired branch, therefore a psychiatrist must study medicine in order to later be able to specialize in psychiatry.
- A psychologist is not allowed to prescribe medication, he simply uses therapeutic treatments; A psychiatrist has a medical license so he is allowed to prescribe medication.
- The psychologist evaluates and treats a person to detect problems related to their environment, the psychiatrist is based on the physiological origin to then apply a clinical treatment.
