an md prescribes medications as part of their practice; a psychologist does not. both are skilled and licensed to provide psychotherapy. while it is possible to have both (there are combined phd and md programs) you may want to choose a discipline that best suits your career goals. to be a physician you are looking at four years of college four years of medical school followed by three or four years of a psychiatry residency. after you complete your residency and take your specialty board exams you can design your practice anyway that you like. you can prescribe medications if the patient needs them and provide the psychotherapy. it’s smart to plot your course of action for college success while still in high school. once your start driving down the college highway it’s not always easy or practical to change your destination and route. undergraduate coursework focuses on a different set of emphasized study for your desired type of graduate degree. (see bolded text below). let’s look at your potential career choices and the educational/training requirements as follows: licensed clinical psychologist (ph. d. ) – with this choice your hold a doctorate degree and the title of “doctor”. unlike a medical doctor you will not be able to write-out prescriptions for medication. typically ph. d. students complete 4-5 years of undergraduate study in a related field such as psychology social work mental health counseling sociology or anthropology. you can then expect to enroll in a graduate program and spend 4-7 years working on your doctorate degree. to be a licensed clinical psychologist most people will spend between 9 to 12 years in a higher education setting. the amount of time that it will take you to complete those educational requirements depends on your level of motivation and area specialty interest (such as forensics childhood adolescent or marriage counseling). medical doctor- you will be accorded the title of medical doctor (m. d. ) or osteopathic physician (d. o. ) along with all of the rights privileges and responsibilities of the designation. educational requirements are lengthily. you’ll need 4 years at a college or university to earn a bs or ba degree usually with a strong emphasis on the sciences such as biology physics chemistry and anatomy and physiology. advanced studies in mathematics will also prove to be helpful. other areas of emphasis may be acceptable for some students. you’ll then need undergraduate medical education (medical school) which includes 4 years of study at a u. s. medical school accredited by the liaison committee on medical education. your 4 years of medical school will include preclinical and clinical components. newly graduated md’s enter into a residency program that can be 3-7 years in length of vigorous training under the guidance of senior medical educators. the length of residency training depends on your choice of specialties such as cardiology family medicine psychiatry pediatrics or others. this can be followed by fellowship training of 1-3 years in a subspecialty when doctors want to become highly specialized. for example some doctors may want to focus on the area of adolescent psychiatry a subspecialty of psychiatry. after completing undergraduate school medical school and graduate medical education a physician must still obtain a license to practice medicine from a state or jurisdiction in which they are planning on practicing. you can then apply for a permanent license after successfully completing a number of examinations. the majority of physicians also choose to become board certified. some states and jurisdictions require a certain number of continuing education credits be earned in order to maintain their level of competency in the medical field. please note: a psychiatrist is a medical doctor who specializes in the field of psychiatry. although it is not against the law for psychiatrists to engage in therapy treatment sessions most psychiatrists are content with specializing in prescribing psychotropic medications and in leaving the “talk therapy sessions” to other professionals. therapist- other options in psychology do exist that require fewer years of college. for example you might find it rewarding to become a licensed marriage counselor or family therapist. this pursuit may require 4 years of undergraduate study followed by 2- 3 years of graduate school study. best wishes for your success.
is it possible to have an md in psychiatry and a phd in psychology with a md/phd program? . i am a senior in high school and i have always wanted to either be a psychiatrist or psychologist. i love the idea of both but i have heard that most psychiatrists don't practice psychotherapy. my real question is if i need another degree to practice psychotherapy as well as being a psychiatrist. also is it possible to be an md in psychiatry but also have a phd in psychology? or is it possible to just be a therapeutic psychiatrist?