What Psychology Majors Don’t Learn in School
January 19th, 2011 | 
Author: What Psychology Majors Don’t Learn in School
Whether you’re interested in attending one of many psychology schools or just interested in seeking out a psychologist, it’s important to understand a few things about what psychology majors learn in school, or more importantly, what they don’t learn in school. People often confuse psychologists and psychiatrists or use their names interchangeably, but this is incorrect. Psychology students have a very different educational path. Their training and credentialing are quite different. Although they may both provide counseling services and they are both interested in aspects of the human mind, the similarities end there.
What psychology students don’t learn in school are the intricacies of dispensing medicine. They cannot prescribe medication to patients, although they may be able to help patients adjust to or cope with medications that have been prescribed by a psychiatrist. A psychiatrist actually gets a degree in medicine, while a psychologist will get a doctoral-level degree in psychology, which is either a PhD or PsyD in clinical or counseling psychology. After this is completed, which can take five to seven years, psychology students may also have to complete an internship to get their license depending on which state they live in.
A student of psychiatry will be trained on how to assess, diagnose, prevent and treat mental illnesses, just as a typical medical doctor learns how to do the same with the human body. They have to go to medical school just like other doctors; they must complete residencies, and they are technically considered MDs. They can prescribe medication to treat mental illnesses and conditions. There are a couple of states in which people are trying to get legislation passed in order to allow psychologists to prescribe medications after first consulting with a psychiatrist, but as of yet it is still not legally permissible.
Psychology schools focus on theories about human development and how the brain works, and students may choose to go into the areas of counseling or into the areas of research, or even both. They may share some traits with psychiatry students, but psychology students are trained in different areas than psychiatry students.
Institutions offering quality Child Psychology Programs include University of Phoenix, Argosy University, South University, Brown Mackie College and Hesser College.
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