What's the Difference Between a Psychologist and a Therapist? - Promises Healthcare
ENQUIRY

Psychologists and Therapists are often misunderstood to be the same profession, but they aren’t one and the same. Both types of mental health professionals, however, do have a vast knowledge of mental processes. As a general rule, they may work closely together to conduct sessions with their clients and work to alleviate the individuals’ mental health status. In this article, we try to help you understand the difference between the two and explain how each can help with your mental health needs.   

Psychologists – not to be confused with Psychiatrists – are mental health professionals who are adept at the study of the mind, and are professionally trained in one or more subfields of psychology. In terms of their clinical orientation, psychologists can have different specialisations. To list a couple of examples, some specialisations may include the treatment of patients with affective disorders, addictions, trauma, or personality disorders. 

Psychologists are skilled at clinical interviews and comprehensive psychological testing and assessments, with common ones such as a Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), or others including a Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI). Clinical psychologists, while unable to provide neuropharmacological support, are able to make a diagnosis if a patient is suspected to have a mental health condition, before moving on to the treatment process. Generally speaking, psychologists tend to approach treatment by exploring the larger theoretical bases of human thought and behaviour. Through this, they work alongside the patient to sieve through difficult life events, long term anxiety or traumatic experiences, in order to trace back to a possible cause of dysfunction. The most common type of treatment used by psychologists is psychotherapy, or talk therapy. The treatment process certainly isn’t one-size-fits-all, for all individuals and their life experiences are different and unique in their own ways. Psychologists ensure that the course of treatment is tailored to each patient’s needs and goals, and help them work through their concerns in a holistic manner. Psychologists can often work in tandem with psychiatrists,  in order to provide the optimal treatment for a patient.

In contrast, therapists tend to work from a broader perspective. As social relationships are a significant contributor to one’s mental wellbeing, it is important that they are balanced and are not debilitating towards one’s mental health status. Thus, therapy often helps an individual to gain insights into his interpersonal connections, in addition to self-actualisation. Therapists can also have varying specialisations. For instance, a marriage and family therapist can help couples or families resolve interpersonal hardships, a child therapist can help a child overcome developmental disturbance, and a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist can aid one in switching away from destructive life habits. Regardless of their specialisations, therapists are, at their core, there to provide mental health support, focusing mainly on improving an individual’s well-being and their ability to cope with day-to-day stressors. 

Therapy can be exceptionally beneficial for persons who require skill sets involving emotion and problem-solving strategies, such that they are better able to cope with difficult times in a healthy manner without having their emotions rule over them. Therapists are in some sense, a guiding light for patients. By providing guidance and support, therapists can nudge one towards clarifying their emotions and helping them make better life decisions (not making the decisions on their behalf!)

Therapists, like psychologists, are unable to prescribe medications. A therapist’s goal is to help patients make decisions and clarify their feelings in order to solve problems. Therapists provide support and guidance while helping patients make effective decisions within the overall structure of support. 

Just like how your body can react to physical illnesses, issues with mental health (especially if they are persistent) can be debilitating too. Now that you have a better understanding of the differences between psychologists and therapists, how you do choose the right clinician for your mental health issues? A great first step would be to browse our list of professionals at Promises Healthcare and make an appointment with one whose speciality best suits your needs.


References:

  1. https://dictionary.apa.org/psychologist (Accessed 06/05/2021)
  2. https://positivepsychology.com/how-to-become-a-therapist/ (Accessed 06/05/2021)
  3. https://www.humanservicesedu.org/counselor-vs-psych-vs-therapist/ (Accessed 06/05/2021)