What’s the Difference Between Psychiatry and Criminal Psychology?
Question by Max: What’s the difference between psychiatry and criminal psychology?
Best answer:
Answer by Mark
Psychiatry deals with diagnosis and treatment of medical, biological brain-disorders. While there is also some overlap with Psychology, it deals with behavioral issues much more from a medical standpoint – treating problems with proper medications, counseling, educating the sufferer on how best to manage their disease.
Criminal Psychology deals more with a specific type of abnormal psychology: anti-social personality disorders, criminal thinking errors, deviant motivations etc. It focuses more on defects of character being the root cause of the criminal behavior than it does on the medical aspects. There is also some overlap in the treatment of criminal offenders with Psychiatry, as many people who have commit crimes also suffer from a variety of Psychiatric ailments.
Answer by lemony
Psychiatry is more of an all-rounder of all fields pertaining psychology. It studies the main aspects of modern psychology. In addition, psychiatrists learn about the medication along with its side effects which can be given and prescribed to patients.
Psychiatry is more of a doctor, a doctor who specialises on how the mind works and what treatments are useful for the patient.
A standard doctor (GPs/family doctors) is able to help you with these kinds of problems, but psychiatrists will have more experience with psychological problems.
Criminal psychology is mostly focused and based on criminals (hence the name, it is self-explanatory) and how their minds work, why they commit crimes and their motives.
In Criminal psychology, they would probably teach you about certain disorders (and brain defects) which is commonly prevalent amongst criminals or prisoners but are uncommon amongst the society outside of prison.
To summarise, psychiatrists are more of a doctor who treats you with medication and listens to your problems (regarding Mental Health) and criminal psychology is the psychological study of people who commit crimes.
What do you think? Answer below!
Addiction – Psychology In Seattle – Episode: Addiction – 2009-06-15 – Hosted by Kirk Honda.