I am really passionate about mental health. For about the past year, I have planned to go to med school to become a psychiatrist. The problem is that I would like to do therapy, and while I know that psychiatrists can be therapists, I also know that their training in that area is increasingly becoming limited. I also would like to do research (split my time between research and practice), and I know that PhD psychologists also have a stronger research background than MDs.

For the past few days, I have considered psychology instead of psychiatry, but I feel like I can't sacrifice the understanding of the human body that I would obtain as an MD student. I also have other, less honorable reasons to want to be a physician-prestige, higher salary, ability to prescribe drugs, etc.

I know that most universities have MD/PhD programs, and that some of these programs will allow students to study psychology. I think that this is what I would like to do. The problem is that it would take me forever to graduate. I've also done an internet search on MD/PhD psych, and most people seem to agree that it would be a "waste" to obtain two clinical degrees.

So, what do you all think? Should I pursue an MD, a PhD in clinical psych, or both? Would you see a clinician who was both a psychiatrist and a psychologist? Thanks.