The most common question psychologists hear: What is the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist? Psychologists are essentially scientists who study behaviour, emotion and perception in all contexts. Their field of interest is much wider than just mental illness. Education departments are the biggest employers of psychologists. The role of clinical psychologists however overlaps with the role of psychiatrists, but psychologists do not offer drug-therapy or shock treatment.
Clinical psychology encompasses mental illness to some degree, especially in psychiatric hospitals where psychologists form part of a psychiatric team, but it is mostly about improving how we deal with, and adapt to the problems encountered in our family, social and workaday lives. And it is about personal achievement and life satisfaction. Psychologists are not medical doctors and do not prescribe drugs. They work using counselling and psychotherapy, which I’ll explain in another paper.
Psychiatrists: are medical doctors who have specialised in Psychological Medicine. In other words, they specialise in mental illness. Seriously inappropriate behaviours, thought patterns and emotions making us unable to take proper care of ourselves, or even a danger to others, can have a genetic or other biological cause. In these cases medical intervention is required; drug therapy will be needed, often in concert with psychotherapy or counselling. In these cases a psychiatrist could be the most appropriate specialist to start out with (a doctor’s referral will be needed) although you might very well still need to see a psychologist. Psychiatrist’s patients often report that they get little counselling but their medication is carefully monitored. Your doctor refers patients accordingly.
Choosing a psychologist: Criteria Your Psychologist Should Meet:
o If you live in Australia or USA your psychologist must be registered with a State government psychologist registration authority. This is absolutely essential. In Australia psychologists are now registered by the Federal government via a unit called AHPRA (Aust. Health Professionals Registration Authority), in the USA the State governments “licence” psychologists and in the UK membership of the British Psychological Society appears to be the required credential with status as a “Chartered Health Psychologist”. State registration/licensure/charter ensures that the psychologist is involved in continuing education. I am not au fait with all the European and Asian countries of course, but a good starting point is to identify the major psychologists’ organisations and your local Department of Health and make enquiries through them.
o Should have membership of a psychologists’ association or society so the psychologist is not professionally isolated.
o Should be well qualified in psychology academically. Depending on the country, an Honours degree with a 2 year supervised internship program would be the minimum acceptable (PhD in USA, Masters in UK and Honours in Australia). But don’t get too “fussed” about academic credentials because in all honesty there is little or no correlation between academic status and professional competence and experience. But make sure the psychologist has at least the minimum required by law (he or she will if legally registered, licenced or chartered), and it is worth noting if the psychologist has any additional diplomas related to your own issue – e.g. counselling, hypnotherapy, child psychology, neuropsychology etc.
o Should have extensive and broad experience in psychology, spanning some years and different focus areas of psychology (e.g. educational, organisational, forensic, intellectual disability, neurological, social psychology, academic etc). Breadth of experience is an important advantage.
o Should ideally be qualified and experienced in some other areas that support and extend the psychologist’s skills and understanding, for example sociology, medicine, nursing, naturopathy, physiotherapy, education, or management.
o Should have maturity and life experience. For example, as a single parent I have brought up 2 boys and I am a grandparent. Although my children have their own trades and families and are well adjusted, nevertheless in their teens there were “moments”. I have had my car “totalled” and left in a ditch and I know what it is to have irate parents knocking at the door. In other words, whatever family drama you are going through, I have probably been there myself! It helps if your psychologist genuinely understands “where you are coming from”.
o Your psychologist should have an affordable fee structure and be conveniently located. That is why I have chosen to practice in 4 corners of my home town, Adelaide, Australia.
Seeing a psychologist: Referral not needed. Private Health Cover is available in Australia and USA. In Australia there is a Federal government Medicare rebate for 10 visits if a GP, Psychiatrist or Paediatrician has written the patient a “Mental Health Care Plan” (MHCP). I “Bulk Bill” patients who have the MHCP which means I accept the Medicare rebate as full payment. The patient pays nil.
More information and self-help services: http://www.PsychologyNatural.com (including a complete holistic self-treatment program for depression and panic; Polishing the Sun: A self-managed assessment and treatment program for depression suffers)
Contact: Victor C D Barnes telephone +61(08)8339 5465 [email protected]. Skype-name: vicbanks (internet telephony “Voip”)
If you happen to live in Adelaide and are considering seeing a psychologist or hypnotherapist you could call me on (08) 8339 5465 or 0414 393 616. Explain your issues of concern and by all means ask about “bulk billing”. Go to my home page [http://www.psychologynatural.com] and you will find at the top a free self-help program for depression and panic. You can also email me [email protected]. Workcover cases and other insurance cases e.g. motor vehicle accident patients are very welcome.
Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Victor_Barnes/51572
When you outsource mental health billing services to ZEE Medical Billing Inc. we take the next step by understanding your patient demography and insurance details. Thereafter, steps like running multi-tier checks to verify, as well as validating the correctness and reliability of the documentation are taken. We do not put our clients through a stress-inducing process of resubmission due to non-compliance. Our experts undertake Mental Health Billing Services with care and precision to eliminate rework. But that’s not all. We offer more benefits that you can avail of by partnering with us.