Neuropsychology Central

[andrew otto]

I'm planning on becoming a clinical neuropsychologist... (I know this may seem like a ridiculous question) I'm a little confused about what one can do w/ a PhD or an MD. Can PhDs diagnose and treat patients? If so, what is the difference between the two courses of study?

[lash]

OK, here's a casual rundown of degrees (any of them can do research, so this is just what the clinicians typically do):

MD: Medical doctor. They go through medical school. The most relevant fields are probably neurology and psychiatry. Psychiatrists can prescribe medication, and that's often the main difference between psychiatrists and psychologists, but there's some variety in that. Psychiatrists are medically-trained, and psychologists are not. Neurologists generally deal with, well, neurological issues, from a medical perspective--neurological screening, neuroimaging, medical treatment, that sort of thing.

PhD: Doctor of philosophy. PhD's in the field are called psychologists, and they can perform services from therapy, to administration, to consultation, to school assessments, etc., but they can't prescribe (unless they're in New Mexico and have gone through special training). Clinical neuropsychologists are a subset of psychologists, and they also may do a variety of things, but the main areas you'll find are neuropsychological evaluation and rehabilitation. There are a variety of areas, of course (please nobody criticize my omissions, this is a very general description), and you can check out more about these things on the links or informational sections of our website.

PsyD: Doctor of psychology. Less research-oriented, this degree tends to be mainly focused on therapy and counseling. They're eligible for the same things I mentioned above for PhDs.

Have fun.
_________________
Lee Ashendorf, Ph.D.
Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial VA
Co-Webmaster, Neuropsychology Central

[phil480]

I just wanted to add that Louisiana has recently developed a piece of legislature which allows psychologists to prescribe psychotropics after completing a two year postdoctoal pharmacology degree. The debate still continues as to whether prescripton privliges will be allowed in other states. Also, the U.S military has been allowing PhD's to prescribe for several years.