In the US, at least, psychiatrists are, indeed, medical doctors who receive the same basic medical training as any other doctor. They simply choose psychiatry, as opposed to another specialty (orthopedics, OBGYN, etc.). I've always had good luck with my pdocs, but your mileage may vary. Perhaps psychiatry is more of an "art" since it's more difficult to read someone's mood, as opposed to an EKG or MRI, but they receive four years of med school training just like any other doctor. Just saying...