Do I need a referral to see a psychiatrist?

Often no — many psychiatric practices, including ours, accept self-referrals. Some insurance plans require a referral for coverage purposes, so it's worth a quick check with your plan.

Should I see a psychiatrist or therapist for depression?

It depends on severity and history. Mild symptoms tied to life circumstances often respond well to therapy alone. Moderate to severe symptoms, symptoms that persist despite therapy, or situations where medication is already involved point to a psychiatric evaluation — and many people benefit most from both professionals working together.

What happens at a psychiatric evaluation?

A thorough review of your symptoms, history, medications, prior treatments, and goals, leading to a diagnosis discussion and a treatment plan. At our practice, evaluations can happen entirely by secure video for anyone in Colorado.

Is a psychologist the same as a psychiatrist?

No. A psychologist holds a doctorate in psychology and provides therapy and psychological assessment; a psychiatrist is a medical doctor who diagnoses, prescribes, and provides medical treatments. The titles sound alike; the training and tools differ substantially.

Insights

Psychiatrist vs. Therapist: What's the Difference, and Who Should You See First?

Quick answer

A psychiatrist is a medical doctor (MD or DO) who can diagnose mental health conditions, prescribe and manage medication, and provide medical treatments like TMS and SPRAVATO®. A therapist (counselor, psychologist, social worker) provides talk therapy and cannot prescribe medication in Colorado. If your symptoms are moderate to severe, medications are in the picture, or talk therapy alone hasn't been enough, a psychiatric evaluation is the right next step — and many people ultimately do best with both professionals working together.

Two different jobs, one confusing vocabulary

"I need to talk to someone" launches a thousand Google searches into a wall of overlapping titles: psychiatrist, psychologist, therapist, counselor, LCSW, PMHNP. The confusion is understandable, and it has a real cost — people spend months in the wrong kind of care, not because anyone failed them, but because nobody explained who does what. So here's the plain version.

What a psychiatrist does

A psychiatrist is a physician — someone who completed medical school and a psychiatric residency. That medical training is the defining feature, and it shapes everything about the role:

Diagnosis with a medical lens. Psychiatric symptoms can have medical causes and medical complications. A psychiatrist evaluates the whole picture — your symptoms, history, medications, and physical health — before naming what's going on.

Prescribing and managing medication. Antidepressants, mood stabilizers, and other psychiatric medications are the psychiatrist's core tool set — including the harder judgment calls: what to try after the first medication fails, when a combination makes sense, and when the answer is to stop adding medications and change approach entirely.

Medical treatments beyond medication. Treatments like TMS and SPRAVATO® are physician-directed. When medications haven't worked, a psychiatrist is the professional who can honestly walk you through the full menu of next steps, because they can actually provide them.

Psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners (PMHNPs) also evaluate, diagnose, and prescribe, and are a common part of psychiatric teams.

What a therapist does

"Therapist" is the umbrella term for professionals who provide psychotherapy — structured talk-based treatment. That includes psychologists (PhD/PsyD), licensed professional counselors, licensed clinical social workers, and marriage and family therapists. Their work is the ongoing, week-over-week process of therapy: cognitive behavioral therapy, trauma-focused approaches, skills for managing anxiety, the relationship and life work that medication doesn't touch.

Therapists in Colorado do not prescribe medication. Psychologists bring deep training in therapy and psychological assessment, but the prescription pad and medical treatments belong to the medical side.

None of this makes one role "more" than the other. Evidence-based psychotherapy is a first-line treatment for depression and anxiety in its own right — insurance criteria for treatments like TMS often specifically require that therapy was properly tried.

Who should you see first?

A fair rule of thumb, not a substitute for evaluation:

Start with a therapist when your distress is connected to circumstances you want to work through — a relationship, grief, stress, patterns you want to change — and your day-to-day functioning is mostly intact.

Start with a psychiatrist when symptoms are moderate to severe or worsening, when they significantly affect sleep, appetite, work, or safety, when you suspect a condition that typically involves medication, when you're already on psychiatric medication that isn't working or has rough side effects, or when you've done real therapy and you're still not okay. That last one matters: therapy that hasn't been enough isn't a verdict on you or your therapist — it's information pointing toward a medical evaluation.

And the honest middle: a lot of people do best with both — a psychiatrist managing the medical side, a therapist doing the ongoing work, each making the other more effective. A good evaluation with either professional should tell you whether you need the other.

What we do here

TMS Therapy Centers Colorado is a physician-led psychiatric practice: psychiatric evaluations, medication management, and the treatments that come after medications haven't worked — TMS, SPRAVATO®, and ketamine therapy. We don't provide ongoing talk therapy, and we'll say so plainly — when therapy is what you need, the right move is a referral, not a redirect into whatever a clinic happens to sell. Evaluations are available by secure video to anyone in Colorado.

Call 720-500-7873 or reach us at hello@tmstherapycenterscolorado.com. If you want a concrete starting point, the free, private self-assessments take a few minutes and give you a score worth bringing to either kind of professional.

If you're in crisis or having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 (the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) — free, confidential, 24/7.

Frequently asked questions

No. Therapists — including psychologists, counselors, and clinical social workers — provide psychotherapy but do not prescribe. Prescribing is done by psychiatrists, other physicians, and psychiatric nurse practitioners.