Psychiatrist vs Psychologist

So yesterday I went for my first session of therapy at Rekindle.

Obviously not sponsored (by the centre) because got billed RM585 fml.

Whilst I think therapy is a very American concept and I feel that the past should be in the past, my best friend (who really, really thinks she's British, having spent more than half her life in London) said "maybe it's because Americans are the only ones who have balls to admit they have issues?" and I suppose there's some truth in that.

From what I understand, the difference between psychiatrists and psychologists are as follows:

(Disclaimer: the differences that I am going to list out here are the differences I felt as an individual, I am sure you can get the more scientific differences with a light google search)

a)

• The psychologist is going to want you to recall things from your past and revisit those memories. This might cause pain to certain individuals who haven't gotten past traumatic events. For example, I cried when she told me to talk about my grandmother, the only person I felt have loved me no matter what I did or didn't do in my life. 

• The psychiatrist is going to want to treat what you have now, and is more interested in knowing what you are going through day by day that is affecting your ability to function as a normal human being, or as normal as you have been prior to whatever events that have brought you to see him/her. 

b)

• The psychologist told me "oh the last thing we would want to do is prescribe medication". (I guess that means no Xanax. Rm585 and not even a single drug.) 

• The psychiatrist will prescribe you medication ACCORDING TO YOUR NEEDS. Not just to fob you off (at least the one I am seeing and ethical ones) but will assess your situation with their professional experience so sometimes you have to trust them when they say you do need medication. If you want to go all holistic and herbal and alternative therapy then ok you can go see a psychologist. (In my very very humble opinion if you are so against taking medication that means you don't really want to get well. If you or your baby are having a fever that will not go down even after various "alternative" approaches would you not take any paracetamol? I rest my case.)

I think I can sum it up with:

Psychologists are for people with things that they cannot get over, an incident, grief, etc. 

Psychiatrists are for people whom have experienced these things but have graduated to the stage of moderate to severe depression, that has caused them to not be able to function in society. 

I know both are not mutually exclusive, there are places they both overlap and that place is your mental health. I think it's good if you can afford to see both, but if your depression developed for no reason at all ie not from a trigger of events etc, then therapy isn't going to help much i don't think. 

In any case, a psychiatrist will refer you to a psychologist if he/she thinks your case is better suited to one. 

Okay I hope I helped. 

Incidentally after my session at the therapist yesterday, I was too mentally exhausted to look at all the new things that arrived at my doorstep. That's therapy for you. Mind fucking. 

P.S: Everyone has problems. So how do you know which one you should pick? In my -  my - opinion, if you have problems but are still able to go about life albeit mechanically, and you feel you are depressed, perhaps see a psychologist first because there is more time available with a psychologist. Plus it is a very big leap to go from 'i am depressed' to 'i have depression' (another story for another day). Just remember that whichever you pick, if the healthcare professional feels you need further help, he or she should refer you.