How to Become a Counseling Psychiatrist
Counseling psychiatrists assist patients with navigating mental and emotional problems. They diagnose and treat all forms of major mental illness. They also work in the legal system to evaluate the mental and emotional competency of criminal offenders. What you might not know is that psychiatrists are actually real doctors with prescriptive authority. They attend attend medical school, just like your family doctor. Becoming a psychiatrist takes a lot of schooling, but the salary, job stability, prestige and impact you can make on the community often outweigh the time and expense of training.
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Instructions
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Begin preparing while in high school. Take as much science and math as possible, concentrating in sciences like chemistry and biology rather than geology or astronomy.
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Complete a Bachelor's Degree in psychology or pre-med studies with a psychology emphasis. Your undergrad work will also be science intensive, but should also teach the foundations of psychology, mental illness and human behaviors. From here you can either decide to apply right to medical school or complete a Master's Degree in Psychology. Because it is so difficult to get into medical school, many students are opting to complete their master's programs before applying.
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Take the MCAT exam. This is the medical school entrance exam. Most people take this their junior year in college, but you can take it your senior year, or during graduate school, as well. You must receive a high score on this test to be admitted to medical school.
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Complete four years of medical school. Many medical schools have specific psychiatry tracks, and others simply have you specialize in areas like mental illness. Once you have completed medical school, you will be required to complete a four year residency program in psychiatry. A residency program is like a paid internship, where you will be assigned to a master psychiatrist and learn the ins and outs of working in the field. During this time, you will work as a psychiatrist, but your work will be monitored and critiqued.
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Return to college to achieve an advanced specialization in psychiatry. This is especially important if you chose to specialize in a certain area, like child psychiatry or criminal psychiatry. This usually involves two more years of advanced study and is optional to begin working in the field. All psychiatrists can work as counselors.
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