What are the steps to become a psychiatrist, not a psychologist a psychiatrist and a counselor

The steps to becoming a psychiatrist are almost the same as any medical doctor. You do your residency in psychiatry, but up until then you are with all medical interns. You can major in science or psychology for your bachelors. Your exams to your med schools are the same as a medical doctor. I would recommend you research medical schools you would like to attend and get their information on admissions. I can tell you this that the better your grades are, the better your chance of getting admitted. Also, if you have a favorite author who is also a psychiatrist, read their biography and check out their schools. I wish you well and hope you find a match just right for your skills and personality.

You need to major in something like pre-med or biology and do well enough with your grades to get into medical school. Psychiatrists are MD's first and Psychiatrist's second.

Dear Azar,

Since I am a psychologist I can only give you some general information. Psychiatrists are medical doctors who specialize in treating patients with mental health problems. They graduate from medical school and then complete a residency in psychiatry, usually three years in length. As an undergraduate you would probably want to major in premed, which does require a good deal of chemistry and biology.

I also want to mention that psychiatrists today rarely do "talk therapy" and treat their patients almost exclusively with medication. If you are interested in counseling people this is probably not a good career choice for you.

Good luck in your educational and career pursuits.

Ray Finn, Ph.D.

Hi Azar,
The two previous responses are quite good at providing the foundation after getting your bachelors degree in order to pursue an MD with a specialty in psychiatry. My answer will be more focused on the coursework for your bachelors program.

The first 2-3 years of course work in a pre-medicine program will be focused on physics, math, biology, chemistry (both inorganic & organic), biology and biochemistry. You will also need to take coursework in the behavioral sciences, I.e., psychology. All of this coursework is needed to obtain good scores on the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT). While in school you will also need to develop good relationships with faculty members as you will need at least 5 strong letters of recommendation when applying to medical school. Interviews are also an important part of the selection process for admission to medical school.

I recommend going to the website for the MCAT for additional info on the requirements.

I wish you the best in your future academic studies.
Linda A Robinson, Ph.D.