Hacker News Reader

> What exactly would a therapist do?

Diagnose your ADHD and prescribe you medication.

Only a psychiatrist (an actual medical doctor) can prescribe medication.

A therapist is usually what people refer to as a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT), who does "talk therapy". They are typically NOT MDs, so they do NOT prescribe meds, because they can't.

https://www.google.com/search?q=cbt+as+effective+as+antidepr...

I'm not from the US, so I'm not familiar with that system. Although I would have expected "therapist" to mean a psychiatrist in the context of attention control (as opposed to interpersonal relationships).

One way to think of the difference is: whereas one focuses on helping you feel better through mere conversation[1], the other focuses on achieving the same goal but through the use of chemicals.

They are not mutually exclusive, and everyone's thoughts and bodies are "wired" differently, so it's very common to have a combination of both solutions (talking & meds) to achieve the same goal.

I think too many people think "therapy" == meds 100%, and that is absolutely not true. Many people can benefit from just the "talk" therapy (no meds) and feel better about it.

[1] I say "mere" conversation in jest, but it is no less significant (IMHO), than that of a lawyer's output (mere words too, right?)

Problem solved /s

Reply on news.ycombinator.com