Many people suffer from mental illness. Some are due to problems in their personal lives, others due to heredity or drug use. But not everyone is ready to admit to themselves the appearance of such a pathology, much less go for medical help from a specialist. But even if a person has dared to visit a doctor, it can be difficult for him to determine how a psychologist differs from a psychotherapist or psychiatrist. To understand what kind of doctor is needed in a particular case, consider the difference between these professions.
What does a psychologist treat?
The answer is nothing. A psychologist is not a doctor.
He does not make diagnoses and works with healthy people. Helps to improve relationships or determine self-realization.
If you have a request to understand yourself, go to him. Midlife crisis and relationship problems too.
Since there are quite a lot of situations, this profession also has variations, for example, clinical psychologist.
Clinical psychologist - who is it and what does he do?
This specialist also works with healthy people, but the direction of his activity is already “more medical” in nature.
That is, if an ordinary psychologist is a professional with a social and pedagogical orientation, then a clinical psychologist deals with neurotic patients (whose disorders are more pronounced).
During their training, they study special subjects: addiction medicine, neurology and others. Most often, this specialty is acquired at medical universities.
What is the difference between a psychologist and a clinical psychologist?
The first, as a rule, deals with individual situations in the short term, while the second deals with chronic problems that require much more time to resolve.
Let's explain with examples.
A psychologist can help with anxiety relief, increases a person’s social adaptation, helps in decision making, and a clinical psychologist can work with psychological trauma from somatic illnesses, grief from loss, and psychological trauma after violence or an attack on a person.
But in both cases, the work takes place with healthy people.
Also, the second group of specialists can work with those who have lost speech or memory as a result of accidents, injuries or illnesses. These are also mentally healthy people, they are in a clear consciousness, but in addition they need adaptation.
A short summary: all specialists in this category work not with diseases, but with conditions that make life difficult for people. Such conditions include guilt, resentment, shame, panic attacks, anxiety, etc. That is, they change a person’s attitude towards life and towards themselves.
But if during consultations there is a suspicion that the client is beginning to develop a mental disorder, then it will be their duty to refer him to another specialist.
First results of therapy
Of course, it is impossible to solve a psychological problem with one visit to a specialist.
But it is still necessary to summarize the first meeting.
The positive dynamics of interaction is characterized by the following factors:
- enjoyment of the conversation, even if it was difficult at times;
- feeling that the client was understood;
- understanding the plan of work with a psychologist, at least approximately;
- the emergence of a trusting relationship (or the desire to talk about the most secret things).
Typically, a professional offers the client 3-5 meetings . This is not an advertisement or a marketing ploy. Over the course of several sessions, conflicting feelings will arise towards the specialist. The main thing is to maintain trusting relationships and security.
What does a psychotherapist do?
This employee works with violations of not only will and attention, but also mental functions such as emotions and thinking .
Most often, all this activity is combined into one name “minor psychiatry” (psychiatry of borderline states). What does it mean?
In simple terms, this includes disorders such as obsessive thoughts, obsessive actions, and pathological fears.
A striking example is obsessive-compulsive disorder (we have already written about how to cope with this). For example, constant hand washing.
Here you can see both obsessive thoughts (“I might get infected with an incurable disease, I need to urgently wash my hands with soap”) and obsessive actions (“I washed my hands once, but what if they weren’t clean enough”). Then there is a temporary calm. But the condition remains in the person and continues to poison his life.
What does a psychotherapist treat?
As a rule, these are neuroses. For clarity, let's combine them into groups:
- anxious-phobic (fears of closed spaces, society, flying, obsessive thoughts),
- obsessive-compulsive (obsessive states),
- asthenic (high fatigue),
- hysterical (attracting attention to oneself through incoordination, convulsions and other manifestations in the body),
- depressive (chronically low mood, sleep problems),
- somatoform (when there are complaints of pain in the organs, but they are not confirmed by medical examinations).
A psychotherapist is really a doctor. He makes diagnoses and helps with diseases that can be cured without resorting to pharmacology (pills).
All these disorders, for the most part, are also characteristic of relatively healthy people. For example, obsessive-compulsive disorder (example with hand washing) can affect anyone.
In such cases, a person is always aware of his violation and strives to get rid of it. In more severe cases, criticism of one’s condition is not expressed; the person does not understand his violations.
What does a psychotherapist do?
Work with the client (here not yet with the patient) proceeds in the form of a dialogue.
- the specialist listens to the caller,
- clarifies its purpose
- identifies the reasons
- assesses mental state and readiness to work,
- outlines a precise plan,
- and helps in its implementation.
What does a psychiatrist do?
perception is also added to the list of mental functions (along with thinking, emotions, will and attention) .
It is responsible for the appearance of hallucinations and delusions. A person begins to perceive the surrounding reality differently.
These are types of disorders such as:
- schizophrenia (a disease that manifests itself in distorted thinking with the appearance of hallucinations),
- bipolar disorder (alternating depression and euphoria),
- endogenous depression (frequent thoughts of suicide).
With psychoses, unlike neuroses, people do not understand that this condition interferes with their lives.
These are diseases that arise as a result of disruptions in the functioning of brain systems. That is, first the brain’s functioning is disrupted. What is reflected in behavior. There is no point in looking for reasons in the psyche here.
The causes of these diseases are constantly being researched. One of these reasons is heredity. For example, schizophrenia often appears in children of parents who already suffered from this illness.
These disorders are what a psychiatrist does.
Results: what is the difference between a psychiatrist and a psychotherapist and a psychologist?
Let's compare one by one how they differ from each other.
Firstly, what is the difference between a psychologist and a psychotherapist?
These specialists have different educational backgrounds. In the first case - social and pedagogical education, in the second - medical.
1 — A psychologist works with healthy people, helping them cope with specific situations, make choices, establish relationships with themselves and loved ones, and increase self-esteem. For this purpose, he conducts consultations, trainings, and testing.
2 — A psychotherapist works with borderline states that are recognized by a person, but are a violation. As a rule, these are neuroses (obsessive-compulsive disorders, phobias, psychosomatics - here is our article about how the internal state supports chronic diseases).
He uses individual or group psychotherapy sessions. Therapy can have such varieties as hypnosis, gestalt, art therapy.
Secondly, what is the difference between a psychiatrist and a psychotherapist?
1 — We have already mentioned the psychotherapist.
2 — A psychiatrist treats diseases associated with impaired brain function. He is treated with medication. However, he does not use psychotherapy.
Usually this doctor does not find out what caused the nervous breakdown and psychosis. It is important for him to correctly detect the disease and cope with its symptoms with medication.
At the same time, treatment can be very effective, and it is precisely this that allows one to cope with the patient’s disorders 100%.
Some doctors may also collaborate with a psychotherapist if they consider it necessary.
Psychiatrists themselves can also turn to psychotherapists, because working with mentally ill people is difficult and requires internal study.
So, the difference: a psychotherapist and a psychiatrist : the first works with healthy people with the help of psychotherapy, the second works with patients (who have a problem with their brain function); psychologist and psychotherapist - one helps with improving a person’s adaptation to the outside world, the other with borderline conditions that are expressed in neuroses.
We hope we have answered this question thoroughly. This is the difference between a psychiatrist and a psychotherapist and a psychologist.
Many people still have certain stereotypes associated with these professions.
But there is nothing shameful about mental and brain disorders. They, just like other violations, can be corrected and improved.
At the same time, even turning to a psychiatrist, this does not threaten dispensary registration. Therefore, there is no need to be afraid of him!
Treatment methods
Since all three specialists deal with completely different diagnoses, it is not surprising that they all use different methods, techniques and methods of treatment (psychiatrist and psychotherapist) and correction (psychologist) in their work.
Psychologist
Corrects the behavior and personal internal attitudes of his patients using such methods, methods and techniques as:
- consultations;
- identification of abilities;
- collection of information: survey, introspection, observation, analysis of performance results, tests, experiments, biographical method;
- data processing: statistical analysis, etc.;
- psychological influence: discussions, trainings, persuasion, suggestion, relaxation.
It is important to know that a psychologist is different in that he does not have the right to prescribe medications (even valerian) and conduct hypnosis sessions - for this you need to have a medical education.
Psychotherapist
The psychotherapist treats personality and behavioral disorders with the help of:
- hypnosuggestive, body-oriented techniques;
- classical and Ericksonian hypnosis;
- collective, group, family trainings;
- medicines;
- NLP;
- direct conversation;
- subpersonal analysis;
- modifications of experience;
- beliefs, suggestions.
Despite the fact that the psychotherapist prescribes medications, they do not form the basis of the therapeutic course and are mild in effect.
Psychiatrist
This specialist has heavy artillery in his arsenal:
- atropinocomatous (atropinoshock) therapy (ACT);
- biological psychiatry;
- insulin comatose (insulin shock) therapy (ICT);
- medications: antipsychotics, antidepressants, mood stabilizers, tranquilizers, nootropics;
- psychosurgery: anterior cingulotomy, anterior capsulotomy, subcaudal tractotomy, limbic leucotomy, amygdalotomy, lobotomy;
- occupational therapy;
- electroconvulsive (electroconvulsive, electroshock) therapy (ECT).
A psychiatrist cannot cure a patient without medications and other therapeutic techniques.
Should a healthy person take antidepressants, or is it better to seek help?
Antidepressants are a fairly common route that many people choose. Some people find it difficult to work with their psyche on their own, while others don’t want to go to a psychologist. Why, if there is a faster solution. Still others don’t know that they can work on themselves; they were told to take pills—and they do.
These medications are not cheap, as is, of course, the help of a specialist. The only difference is that with a specialist you will work out the foundation, then there will be no more reason. And antidepressants will only work when you take them. That is, to feel good, you need to take them constantly.
Not everyone currently understands the full benefits of specialists working with the psyche. But this work can change your whole life for the better. You will be able to change your own attitude towards problems, stress less, get rid of complexes and fears. Improve your relationship with your other half.
All this will affect your success at work.
Therefore, no matter what problem you face, the right solution is to work on yourself! And the easiest way to do this is with a competent specialist! For more details, see our article on whether it is worth going to a psychologist.
Now you know the difference between a psychiatrist and a psychotherapist and a psychologist (on this topic
Summary table
For a general understanding of the difference between these specialists, a table reflecting the main criteria by which they differ will be sufficient:
The table clearly shows how one specialty differs from another. A psychiatrist and a psychotherapist are closer to each other, since both must have a higher medical education. It gives them the right to diagnose diseases according to the ICD and prescribe medication. But there are also serious differences between them.
