Well, first lets establish the difference between a psychiatrist and a pyschologist. A psychiatrist is a medical doctor! They are trained just as any other medical student is trained. The big advantage to them is they can prescribe medicine as well as provide pyschotherapy. A pyschologist is simply a counselor. They are NOT doctors and therefore cannot prescribe medicine. A lot of them use psychiatrists to manage the meds while they do the counseling/therapy. In a lot of instances, some people skip the whole therapy thing altogether and use stictly the pyschiatrist. That's what I do. Keep in mind, pyschiatrist can and do practice therapy also.

As far as the first visit, my number one thing I beg you to do, for your sake is to open up. No doctor of any kind will be able to help you if you don't tell them EVERYTHING. You have to be open. If you don't know how to answer a question, ask them to rephrase the question. Also, I would suggest discussing the possibility of medication.

Hope this helps. Please post soon and let us know how the appointment went.