Therapy or Psychiatry: Understanding the Difference

Deciding to prioritize your mental health is an important step, but you might hear terms like therapy and psychiatry and wonder what the difference is, or which one you really need.

While both are focused on improving your emotional well-being, they take very different approaches. At Clearview Mental Health, we often see people who benefit from one, the other, or even a combination of both. Understanding how they differ can help you make an informed choice about your care.

What is Therapy?

Therapy, sometimes called counseling or psychotherapy, focuses on helping you explore and improve your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors in a safe, supportive environment. Therapists hold advanced degrees in fields like counseling, social work, or psychology. They do not prescribe medication, but they can diagnose mental health conditions and use evidence-based techniques to help you cope and heal.

How therapy helps

Therapy is often structured around regular sessions, usually weekly or biweekly, and can be short-term or long-term depending on your needs. Therapy can help with:

• Identifying and understanding patterns that affect your relationships, work, or self-esteem

• Building healthy coping strategies for stress, anxiety, or depression

• Processing past trauma and difficult life experiences

• Improving communication and relationship skills

• Setting and achieving personal goals

What is Psychiatry?

Psychiatry is a branch of medicine focused on diagnosing, treating, and preventing mental health disorders. Psychiatrists are medical doctors (MDs or DOs) who have completed medical school and specialized residency training in mental health. Because of their medical background, psychiatrists can prescribe medications and are trained to understand how mental health conditions interact with physical health. Psychiatry can help with:

• Diagnosing complex mental health conditions

• Prescribing and adjusting medications

• Providing supportive talk therapy and education about mental health

• Creating comprehensive treatment plans

  
  

Psychiatry can be especially helpful for conditions where medication may be part of effective treatment, such as ADHD, depression, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, or PTSD.

Therapy vs Psychiatry: Key Differences

Therapy	Psychiatry
Focuses on talk therapy and behavioral support	Focuses on diagnosis and medication management
Cannot prescribe medication	Can prescribe and manage psychiatric medications
Typically weekly or biweekly sessions	Sessions may be monthly or as needed for medication follow-ups
Led by licensed counselors, social workers, or psychologists	Led by medical doctors or psychiatric nurse practitioners
Helps you build coping strategies and process emotions	Helps address symptoms at a biological and neurological level

Do You Need Therapy, Psychiatry, or Both?

It’s common to feel unsure about which type of care you need. Here’s a general way to think about it:

• Therapy may be a good starting point if you’re struggling with stress, relationships, or specific life challenges. Example: You’ve been feeling anxious at work, or you want to process grief after a major loss.

• Psychiatry may be a better fit if you’re experiencing more severe or persistent symptoms that interfere with daily life. Example: You’ve tried therapy before, but your depression hasn’t improved, or your anxiety causes panic attacks and sleepless nights.

Many people benefit most from both therapy and psychiatry working together. For example, therapy helps you develop tools to manage challenges while psychiatry addresses symptoms through medication when needed.

Taking the First Step

Your mental health journey is unique. There Is no one-size-fits-all solution. At Clearview Mental Health, we make it easy to get started. Our team of therapists and psychiatric providers works together to ensure you receive compassionate, personalized care. We offer:

• Same-week appointments for therapy and psychiatry

• Evening and weekend availability

• Insurance-friendly services, including Medicaid and commercial insurance plans

• Virtual sessions so you can get care from the comfort of home

  
  

If you’re ready to take the next step or still unsure where to start, we can help guide you.

Call us today at (614) 930-2750 or visit www.clearview-mentalhealth.com to schedule your first appointment.