Psychotherapy Training in Psychiatrists

Ever wonder what kind of psychotherapy training psychiatrists get in medical school? Apparently it isn't a lot. If I wasn't sitting down when I read this article I very well might have fallen out of my chair.


I was recently forward an article from The Psychiatric Times. I'm just going to bullet point the things that shocked me:

• residents must have an equivalent of 12 months of full-time, organized, continuous, supervised clinical experience in the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of outpatients in both short-term and long-term care
• forty medical schools in the US and Canada report some limited instruction in psychotherapy as part of the curriculum 
• the instruction occurred at varying times throughout the four years of medical school and was often part of a one hour session

I'm beyond shocked and am going to have to phone a psychiatrist friend or two. While I'm sure the article is true, I'm feeling the need to do my own fact checking. I know many talented psychiatrists that I would comfortably refer a loved one to for psychotherapy. Surely they must have had more than the minimum training.


As a comparison, they average psychologist has had at least 1,200 hours of training while in school, a 2,000 hour internship, and an additional 2000 hours of training after earning their doctoral degree. That's just work experience, not classroom instruction.


My no means am I posting this to suggest that psychologists are better than psychiatrists. I've not personally done a comparison of how the two different fields train students to do psychotherapy.
I am posting this because I am shocked. I am reminded how important it is to be an informed client. 


Don't be afraid to ask your therapist about their training. In light of this information, I think it's important to know if a psychiatrist has done the minimum training or if they have sought additional education and experience.


Want to read the article?

http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/1491210?verify=0

Tucker, P.M., Garton, T.S., Foote, A.L., and Candler, C. (December 1, 2009). In Support of Early Psychotherapy Training. Psychiatric Times, 12.