What is the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist?

A psychologist is someone who usually has a doctorate or advanced degree level of training in psychology. They may have the title of PsyD or PhD. They utilize therapy to diagnose and treat individuals experiencing mental illness

A psychiatrist is someone who has attended medical school and has a doctorate of medicine. They have the title of MD or DO. They attend 3-4 years of residency in psychiatry and may also have additional training in a psychiatry fellowship. For instance, I have 2 years of fellowship training in child adolescent psychiatry. A psychiatrist can prescribe medication and also treat clients using therapy as well.

Why did you decide to become a child and adolescent psychiatrist?

I’ve wanted to be a doctor my whole life! My mom says I started telling her I’d be a doctor when I was just five years old. When I went to medical school I thought I’d become a pediatrician, because I always enjoyed working with kids. I worked in a lot of afterschool programs and mentorship programs as a teen and in college. When I completed my pediatrics rotation in medical school, I enjoyed it, but I felt like something was missing. The next rotation was psychiatry and I just fell in love with child psychiatry. I realized that if you could help a child with their mental health problems, whether that be anxiety or depression or ADHD, it would make a huge impact for their entire lives and it would also impact the lives of those around them. That just felt like something I wanted to be a part of, more so than treating their infections, although that’s important too!

What’s your practice philosophy?

So often when working with families or individual clients, I hear people say that they don’t feel they are being heard. They often tell me they feel people are just starting medications for them without their input. So my first priority is to be sure someone is being heard. In addition, I like to take a holistic approach. There are often factors affecting someone’s mental health that is not about medication. Things like sleep, diet, social connections and other factors in the environment have a huge impact as well. So I like to take those factors into account. And finally, my personal approach is to use medications only when needed and if they are well tolerated. I work with my families to find a regimen that they are comfortable with. That includes taking into account the child or teen’s input as well.

What do you do when you’re not working?

I try to practice what I preach and maintain a good work/life balance. I think social connection is such an important part of happiness and well being, so I spend a lot of time with my family and friends and also taking my dog for walks. I’m also a big reader! I always have something I’m reading. I love books, especially fiction and could talk about them all day. I love asking teens what they’re reading because I get great recommendations. When I have the time, I also like to paint and travel.