I’ve had a few people tell me therapy might be a good idea but Im seeing a psychologist atm and I haven’t the faintest idea what the difference is.
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Tl;dr:
therapist usually means psychologist, but there are some people who will claim to do therapy without training in psychology (life coaches, for example). Make sure the therapist is a psychologist. Psychologists can diagnose disorders and treat them with therapies, but cannot prescribe medications. Only a psychiatrist or doctor can do that.
Usually when people say therapist they are referring to a psychologist. They will talk to you, give different ways of approaching your life or responding to intrusive and negative thoughts and behaviors.
Their are therapists who specialize in different types of therapy. One of the more evidence-backed types of therapy is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, particularly for anxiety disorders.
A psychologist has a doctorate degree (meaning an extensive research degree, not a medical degree). They can diagnose you with a mental disorder. _but_ they do not prescribe medications. Only a person with a medical degree, meaning a doctor (general practitioner) or a psychiatrist, can prescribe you medications for serious mental health issues.
The funniest explanation I’ve ever heard came from a character on You’re the Worst.
It went something like this:
A psychologist listens to you while you bitch and moan about not making it in Hollywood.
A psychiatrist says ‘Bitch, take these pills.’
Wish I could find the clip on the Internet.
Psychiatrist is a doctor who cures you using drugs
Psychotherapist is a doctor who cures you using non drug methods, such as cognitive behaviour therapy, he corrects your brain errors by teaching you the correct logic
Psychologist is not a doctor, he is just a guy who solves (gives advices) your problems. He is like your best friend but for money
Lazy Satisfaction has a good overview but missed some folks. Many therapists have other backgrounds such as Licensed Social Workers. They train to help people process their emotions and identify patterns, etc.
A psychologist may provide therapy, I don’t know the percentage or anything but it is one of quite a few options for those with the right degree. Psychiatrists rarely provide therapy and usually focus on medication. Other therapists are frequently the ones who do talk therapy.
Imagine a venn diagram with the following bubbles: psychologists, psychiatrists, therapists, and others. They all intersect in various ways with each other.
Psychologists are people who studied psychology – this includes how people make memories, develop language skills, adapt to social situations, develop their personalities, and the influence of their biology in all of the above. They can specialise to become educational, health, cognitive, clinical, forensic psychologists, or counsellors.
Psychiatrists are people who have a medical background and then specialised in mental health, so they can diagnose people with mental health conditions and prescribe appropriate medication for it.
Therapists are people who may have studied psychology, or psychiatry, and also specialised in psychological therapies – this can be CBT, DBT, psychoanalysis, etc. Clinical psychologists and counsellors would be the most common.
Therapy may be a person to person talking therapy, or a computerised therapy (e.g. online CBT), or a mixture. While a clinical psychologist can conduct mental and cognitive tests and then may offer therapy, counsellors offer therapy to people who already have been assessed. Therapy may also run concurrently with medical treatment, e.g. taking mood stabilisers at the same time as having talking therapy about depression. Psychologists cannot prescribe medication, psychiatrists can.
There are also people who adopt established therapy techniques without necessarily having a background in psychology or psychiatry and offer services to people. They like to call themselves life coaches.
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