My dream is to eventually start a private practice and specialize in the treatment of eating disorders and food addiction. I really want to be able to talk with my patients and be much like a psychologist. However, because so many people are getting degrees in psychology and the payoff ultimately doesn’t seem to be that great, I’ve been toying with the idea of become a psychiatrist and attempting to specialize in the treatment of eating disorders. However, the stress of medical school coupled with the stress of having to start my own private practice just seems to be sacrificing quality of life, and although I am passionate about this job, I don’t want to have my youth dripping in hardship and stress. What would be the best path? Just go for a Psy. D? Go for the medical school? What education would you recommend to help me achieve this goal without sacrificing my own mental health?
You could major in psychology while being careful to take all the courses that meet pre-med requirements for medical school. If you do well, and you will have to do well to proceed down either path, your options for either are available to you.
I’d agree with the above poster- start out as a psych major and fulfill pre-med reqs. If you change your mind partway through you can either continue with a psych major and still go to med school or drop the pre-med reqs and pursue a psychologist route.
You also have more options than med school and PsyD - consider a PhD in psychology as well. Some professors look down on the PsyD programs and a PhD could be somewhere in between med school and a PsyD.