How much does it cost to see a psychologist in Nigeria for a therapy session?
You are having some psychological or mental issues and you want to talk to a psychologist for a therapy session…Ok..you want to know how much it will cost you to see a psychologist in Nigeria? Worry no more. Clinical Psychologists are not very many in Nigeria …infact, I have only seen one in my years of practice in Nigeria…She is a Professor in Clinical Psychology now…
Now to answer your question…the cost of seeing a psychologist in Nigeria is around N20,000 – N50,000 naira depending on the hospital, the psychologist and the city. It may be lower.
Are you confused about the differences between a psychologist and a psychiatrist? Read the article below…to give you a better perspective and help you in making the right decision. A psychiatrist wrote it.
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There is some confusion regarding the difference between a psychologist and psychiatrist. I was once asked why I’m doing psychiatry since there are lot of psychiatrists in Maldives. There aren’t. There are only a handful of psychiatrist…he was thinking about psychologists.
Troubling since the question was asked by a higher-up in the government. Psychologists and psychiatrists work together as a team in mental health and their work overlap.Psychiatrists are medical doctors who complete their medical degree first then work in hospitals as medical officers before specializing in Psychiatry as a postgraduate subject. It is a postgraduate specialization just like physician, pediatrics, gynecology etc. This means psychiatrists can legally prescribe medication while psychologists cannot; an important distinction. What’s confusing is that some psychologists also have the doctor title before their names.
This is because they have done their PhD in psychology so the Dr is a non-medical title. Even medical doctors can study up to phD level in their respective fields (& no their title doesn’t become Dr)
So basically psychiatrists take history of the patient and come up with a diagnosis and prescribe the required medication for the condition. Since they have a background in medicine they can also rule out medical conditions that may mimic a mental illness like hyperthyroidism or arrhythmia’s which can present similar symptoms to anxiety.
Psychologists also help with the diagnosis since some conditions like autism, ADHD etc need longer observation times and history from parents , teachers and also specific rating scales need to be done before a conclusion is reached. Rating scales are important for both diagnosis and measuring response to treatment. Clinical psychologists spend more time with patients guiding them towards recovery using therapies like cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavior therapy.
So in short psychiatrists spend much of their time on medication management as a course of treatment while Psychologists focus on behavioral intervention & modification as well as psychological assessments and testing. .
This article is the intellectual property of www.nimedhealth.com.ng
