Qualifications
We warned you that this career was going to require a lot of schooling on your part….
You'll need a doctorate in order to get that "Dr." prefix before your name. Otherwise, you're just "Joe Schmo who likes to talk to you and try to solve your problems." Which looks just awful in a phone book.
After your four years of undergrad, you'll need to put in at least another four of medical school in order to get your Doctor of Medicine (MD) or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degree. Along the way, you'll pick up quite a bit of general medical knowledge, so if one of your patients ever starts to deliver a baby in your office, you may have to man up and get your hands dirty.
Like other doctors, you'll have to complete a residency and then become licensed, as well as certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN). Once you're on board with the Board, you can analyze this…and that.