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Q. Do psychologists prescribe medicine?
A. This is a growing controversy. Why? Well, that’s usually the cash cow of psychiatrists, but more and more psychologists are entering the field by qualifying themselves through college courses in psychopharmacology for writing prescriptions. Psychologists in the military often prescribe medicine. By itself, medication usually masks problems, so the best way to go also includes psychotherapy—a combination of both. That’s because drugs alone don’t help everybody. But it’s cheaper. Ask the managed care HMO’s. They avoid paying for enough treatment and better help.
Q. But for readers of this interview, what’s the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist?
A. That’s another one of the really good questions. Many people are confused about the professions.
Take psychiatry first. Using the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) as a standard, there’s only one entry for psychiatrists, and that’s for those who treat mental patients with medicine. They went to medical school and have had a residency in psychiatry. Their mainstay is prescribing drugs. They seldom, if ever, get training in the field of worker rehabilitation or mental testing. Got that?
Q. Uh-huh. Please go on.
A. Oh, I’m just warming up. We, psychologists, are more diversified. For instance, the DOT has several entries for us. Our main forte and what distinguishes us most from psychiatrists is the fact we administer psychological tests. For Social Security, mental testing usually includes ones of intelligence, achievement (scholastic), visual motor acuity, or, occasionally, a personality inventory. Finally, we are trained at the university level in the psychology of rehabilitation. And as clinical psychologists we actually treat patients pretty much as psychiatrists do with “talk” therapy, but often backed up by psychological tests.
Q. Granted, disability for Social Security is long-term, I know, but does it want people back to work?
A. Definitely. And the individual must still prove being disabled, blind, or poor. That calls for on-going treatment, and without it the assumption is nothing’s wrong. So, no benefits. Too often people make a mistake, especially parents of children, who accept cash payments, but never follow through with continuous treatment. Many claimants fail to realize Social Security can demand periodic re-evaluations.
Q. Please indulge me for one final question. Okay?
A. Okay. Go for it.
Q. It’s simply this, What’s the story about Social Security and obesity?
A. Interesting...very interesting. True. Social Security awards benefits to those who are, in fact, obese, as long as it’s tied in with another impairment in its Listing. This is a very elaborate matter, including body mass index (BMI). Many overweight people eat “comfort food” due to an emotional void – not because of hunger.
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