I've worked as an emergency medicine doctor in the UK and the US, and in the US at least, I tend to recommend that patients with less severe symptoms start with a therapist (i.e. NOT someone who can prescribe meds). If the therapist really thinks a patient needs meds, they can arrange a referral to a psychiatrist, but I feel like psychiatrists underemphasize the therapeutic values of actually talking to patients and overemphasize meds.

Now the meds are absolutely required for some people with more severe conditions, and can help those patients a lot, but for the majority of people who have less severe illness, I think they can do more harm than good. Either way, a therapist can tell if someone does need meds and make the referral if needed, but the extra level of indirection is helpful, I believe, in preventing over-medication.