It is also possible to become a therapist by pursuing a Master's degree in Social Work and doing additional post-graduate training in therapy. Differences between Psychiatry and Cinical Psychology. Psychiatrists are medical doctors who acquire specialized training in the field of psyciatry. The main difference between what psychiatrists and psychologists can do is that psychiatrists can prescribe drugs. The majority of psychiatric residencies emphasize the biological basis of mental illness and psychiatrists tend to focus on drug-related treatments of mental illness.
Psychologists engage in a variety of kinds of talk therapy.
Often psychiatrists and psychologists work together to treat people with a mental illness. Most Clinical Ph.D. programs take 5 to 6 years to complete. An additional year is spent doing a clinical internship. This is usually in a hospital or mental health center and is intended to provide experience with a range of clinical work. After internship, additional supervised clinical work is needed to become licensed as a clinical psychologist.