Psychiatr: Co dělá psychiatr a kdy je potřeba jít k lékaři místo terapeuta

When you're struggling with your mental health, you might hear two names: psychiatr, lékař s medicínským vzděláním, který může diagnostikovat duševní poruchy a předepisovat léky. Also known as lékař pro duševní zdraví, it is the only professional in Czech healthcare who can prescribe medication and order medical tests like blood work or brain scans. A psychoterapeut, osoba s psychologickým nebo pedagogickým vzděláním, která pomáhá prostřednictvím hovoru a technik jako KBT nebo Gestalt. They don’t prescribe pills. They listen, guide, and help you understand your thoughts and feelings. Many people think they’re the same, but they’re not. One treats the brain with chemicals, the other treats the mind with conversation.

If you’ve been feeling empty for months, can’t sleep, have panic attacks every week, or feel like you’re losing control, a psychiatr might be your first stop. They can tell if it’s depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or something else that needs medical treatment. If you’re stuck in loops of anxiety, struggling with relationships, or haunted by past trauma, a psychoterapeut helps you untangle it. Often, the best results come when both work together — medication to calm the storm, therapy to rebuild what’s broken.

You don’t need a referral to see a psychiatrist in the Czech Republic, but public clinics have long waiting lists. Private psychiatrists cost more, but you’ll get in faster. Many people wait too long because they think they should "just get over it" — but if your mood is stealing your sleep, your job, or your relationships, that’s not weakness. It’s a signal. And you don’t have to fix it alone.

Some of the posts below show how therapy helps with trauma, anxiety, addiction, and relationship problems — all things a psychiatrist might also diagnose. But they don’t tell you when to pick a pill over a conversation, or when you need both. Here, you’ll find real stories about what happens after you walk into a psychiatrist’s office, what questions to ask, how to tell if the medication is working (or hurting), and when it’s time to switch to therapy — or add it. You’ll learn how people in Czechia actually navigate this system, what to expect in the first appointment, and why so many end up seeing both a psychiatrist and a therapist — not because they failed, but because they finally got the right help.