How to be a psychiatrist?

[BingeWatcher]

Where I live, we are woefully short of Psychiatrists. I think there is a huge demand. It needs to be a real passion because it is challenging.
I don’t know about the pay. I believe you would have no trouble finding a job.

[merc81]

For colleges strong in psychology, look for course elements that include aspects from the major branches of modern psychology: clinical, cognitive, educational, developmental, personality, psychological, sensory and social.

Smith, Hamilton, Pitzer, Bates, Gettysburg and Lewis & Clark would represent a range of potentially excellent options.

[jym626]

This is getting way ahead of things for this student, but just as an example, I pulled up minimal admissions requirements for a doctoral program. Hofstra was the first that came up so here is its list (note the course requirements/expectations which I have bolded):

Admissions Requirements
The following listing represents the minimal requirements for admission to the Ph.D. Program.

Proof of completion of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university (transcript required). Average GPA for students enrolled in the past five years: 3.65
GRE Exams: The Verbal, Quantitative, and Psychology GRE exams are required of all applicants. During the past five years, percentile scores of enrolled students have averaged: Verbal = 84%, Quantitative = 64%, Psychology = 75%.
For non-native speakers of English, the TOEFL exam may be required (check with the program secretary for more information).
**A strong undergraduate record or graduate record. Candidates are expected to have completed with an average of 3.0 or better, the following two courses:

Elementary Statistics
Research Design/Experimental Psychology (laboratory course)

In addition, the following courses are strongly recommended:

Psychopathology/Abnormal Psychology
History or Systems of Psychology
Physiological Psychology or Sensation/Perception
Tests and Measurements**
Personal Statement

This statement gives you an opportunity to submit information that you would like to have evaluated with your application. Typically, applicants submit a well articulated essay of 2-3 pages in length on your interest in Clinical Psychology. An essay may include information about and/or copies of:

Honors or achievements which you have not listed elsewhere
Cultural, racial, religious, sexual orientation, or family history of perceived importance in determining your interest in professional Clinical Psychology
Physical disabilities
College or employment activities relevant to professional psychology
Previous publications or convention presentations in psychology, etc.
Any other information you deem interesting or relevant about you!
Letters of Recommendation

Three letters of recommendation are required. All letters must be submitted through the online application portal. Do not send paper copies.

The committee views in-depth letters from professors who know your work in a number of courses or a variety of settings as more important than a vague, general letter attesting to your competence or academic prowess. We are especially interested in letters which attest to your interpersonal attributes and competence in research skills, both of which are viewed as necessary to be a Psychology professional. Specific competence in statistics, research design, physiological psychology, lab courses or tests and measurements may be reflected in letters as well. These academic letters may be supplemented by letters which attest to your organizational and work skills in community activities, group homes, mental health centers, etc. Volunteer work or paid employment are both equally valued.
A curriculum vita listing educational and professional experiences and accomplishments.

[inthegarden]

It is possible to become a fully licensed therapist with a master of social work (there are programs that focus on clinical social work, which is very different from community social work.) After earning the MSW, you would take a basic licensing test, work under supervision for a duration, then pass another test to become fully licenced as a clinician. In this capacity, you could diagnose and treat, but, of course not prescribe pharmaceuticals.

You could go this route with any undergraduate major…some MSW programs have prerequisites in psychology, sociology and human physiology.

It’s also possible to get a doctorate in social work but I’d say most people who do this plan to research and/or teach.

I second the idea of volunteering/shadowing, or working in any capacity in a mental health setting. The reality is very different from theory. It can be rewarding but emotionally stressful work.

[WISdad23]

@jym626 not sure what you are referencing. The OP said she/he is interesting in psychiatry, not psychology.

Although the advice about social work and psychology is understandable, those fields are not really alternatives to psychiatry. They are vastly different career/educational paths that tend to draw very different kinds of people.

As a high school student, your options for shadowing are about zero, mostly due to HIPAA. Plus, not all high school students are mentally prepared and it is impossible to know ahead of time. In our facility, we don’t even take undergraduates for shadowing in mental health.

[jym626]

I am referencing post#21, @WISdad23. And this OP is a HS junior. Plenty think they are going to go into medicine…

[inthegarden]

OP did say somewhere in the middle of this thread that he/ she is interested in potentially exploring either psychiatry and psychology. I interpreted that as possibly having a broad interest in becoming a mental health practitioner yet having limited understanding of the field, which is understandable. I know that many, many people are not aware of the profession of psychiatric and/or clinical social work (as opposed to other kinds of social work.) I would also venture to guess that, in sheer numbers of hours spent working directly with clients in therapy, more clinicians may be LCSWs than psychiatrists or even psychologists (though I can’t back that up with numbers at this time.) There is a different emphasis and path, yes, but many similarities too (i.e. LCSWs can diagnose using the DSM, and often work in concert with psychiatrists.) I thought it worthwhile to offer that to OP in case that path was of interest at some point. LCSWs are highly-qualified professionals, and a number of well-regarded schools (Smith, for example) have graduate programs.

[akabrowny]

Thank you so much for all this wonderful information. The program that I am in at my school actually requires that I complete an internship of my liking this summer (before senior year), so I am planning on doing a psychiatry internship at my local hospital. However, I am still unsure of my career path, and I am leaning towards a profession that deals with mental health/counseling, so I believe psychiatry is a very viable choice for me. If anyone has more information on the day-to-day life of a psychiatrist (or the path to get there), please post

[brantly]

You already have all the information on the path to get there. At this point, you just have to think about medical school. That’s the goal: medical school. You can’t be a psychiatrist without going to medical school.

[merc81]

Schools included here can be good choices for pre-med/psychiatry and will often have good psychology programs:

http://www.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/lists/list/the-experts-choice-colleges-with-great-pre-med-programs/199/

Not incidentally, it’s been credibly argued that if Freud hadn’t happened to have been a medical doctor, the connection between psychotherapy/psychoanalysis and medicine would never have been established. Psychopharmacology may have eventually changed that, however.