Difference between neuro psychologist and
 

neuro psychiatrist?

And yes I have googled the terms...and still get confused.

Can anyone explain in simple English what is the difference between them?

Newbie.

hey newbie, I don't know the answer and if google didn't tell you, then searching won't help me either.

i always thought a psychologist could counsel, but not prescribe meds and a psychiatrist could prescribe. ?? Like an optometrist can script glasses, but only an opthomologist can treat eye disease.

that's the best I can come up with! maybe someone else will show up that knows.

from my understanding

a Psychiatrist is an MD who has then gone on to specialise in psychiatry. They therefore have all the qualifications needed to practice medicine, with the additional specialization

Psychologists are not medical doctors (as a rule) although they may have a PhD in psychology. I believe a Master's degree is the minimum required to become licenced as a psychologist

HTH
:)

That is a grerat help thanks.

Why do people make it sound so complicated? Oh well perhaps it is just me being a bozo :)

The fear here is which one is likely to say.. (we have all heard this one)

"It's all in your head!"

After they have done all the physical tests eg MRI, cats, lumbers etc etc (You know the ones) and they are all negatives (I am aware of false negatives)

A regular psychiatrist has ALREADY said it is NOT all in the head... I wonder why a 'neuro' psychiatrist is recomemded?

The GP is now accepting the pain levels and is prescribing pain meds well (at long last)

So why the 'neuro psychiatrist'?

I'm not explaining this well am I?

A Neuro psychiatrist does neuro psych testing.

The testing is cognitive, memory, concentration and alot more.

sorry I can still not see the difference between a neuro and an ordinary psychiarist

the ordinary psychiatrist did all that.

and said of course I'm depressed, with that amount of pain any one would be.

so to go back to the original Q.

for what reason are they so special to have the word 'neuro' in front of their name. this is what I do not understand.

What does a neuro psychologist/psychiatrist do that that the run of the mill ones don't?

I must confess Newbie, that has me stumped too cos I have always understood that both those psychs deal with neuro issues???

I havent ever heard the distinction neuro- as opposed to just the psychiatrist or psychologist in that way, so I am interested to hear what the actual distinction is myself:confused:

join the party Chemar, but they seem to think there is a difference.

ah well we will see.

Newbie,

The neuro psych does testing. The testing can take hours or might be done in one or more visits.

The testing can be in the form of memory games, diagrams ect. The neuro psych is looking for possible deficits that can't be seen in other tests. Some that have medical problems such as MS can have cognitive problems that can and does interfere with doing their job and once the deficit is found then the patient is then able to find ways to compensate.

A neuro psych can also evaluate a child that has possible ADHD and/or learning difficulties and find the deficits so the child can get the appropriate help.

A Psychiatrist can diagnose any number of mental heath issues and prescribe meds but they do not do the type of testing that a neuro psych does.

Hope this made more sense to you.