Difference between psychiatrist and psychologist

[Desecrated]

"Psychiatrists are medical doctors (MDs) who graduate from medical school, have a year of medical internship, and have 3 years of residency in the assessment and treatment of mental health disorders."

"Psychologists have a doctoral degree in an area of psychology, the study of the mind and human behavior. They’re not medical doctors. A psychologist can have a PhD in philosophy or a PsyD in clinical or counseling psychology."

If you are experiencing severe mental disorders you should talk to a psychiatrist and get medication. If you just need somebody to talk to, you can go to a psychologists.

[Rin]

I think seeing both would be ideal, unless you happen to luck onto a psychiatrist who also does talk therapy and similar modalities, instead of working through a purely pharmacological approach.

Personally, I think anyone engaged in any kind of magical or spiritual pursuit should be seeing some kind of mental health professional on a regular basis. It makes a lot of the internal personality work much easier, since you get an external opinion and someone to bounce ideas off (which is particularly useful if you don't have a spiritual teacher), can help keep you grounded and ensures that you're in touch with someone who knows the early warning signs if you start drifting into lala land.

[Desecrated]

A lot of people are afraid of talking to a psychologist because they think they will be thrown into a mental ward for just mentioning any deviations from the norm, but a psychologist don't have the authority to do that. Worst case scenario they will give you a remiss to a psychiatrist that can then do an evaluation and recommend further care options, But seeing a psychologist is a little bit like going to the school counselor.

I also think it's a good idea to with a professional on a regular basis. Especially if one is doing any sort of pathworking it can actually be good to talk to somebody about it.