People often get confused with the terms “therapy” and “counselling” when they go for mental health treatment. Professionals with various titles, such as therapists, counsellors, psychologists, and psychiatrists, provide you mental health help and support. You may see the jumble of letters after each provider’s name. So, these terms are used interchangeably, which makes things very confusing. But there are some differences between them. In this blog, we delve into these confusing terms so you can find the care that you need. You can find the best option when you know the difference between counselling and therapy.
What is Psychotherapy?
Psychotherapy is also known as talk therapy. The mental health conditions and emotional distress are treated through conversation and psychological techniques. You talk about what you are feeling, the symptoms you are experiencing, and your environment (like your family, friends, work, etc). The professional uses techniques such as active listening to validate your experience and give feedback on what you are saying that helps you understand the root cause. It helps you connect your present stressors to your past experiences.
It develops a trusting relationship between you and your therapist, which boosts healing. The prime goal of therapy and these techniques is to help you gain insight into yourself that helps you manage your symptoms and feel better. Psychotherapy can help people suffer from many mental health conditions, such as PTSD, Major depressive disorder, Obsessive-compulsive disorder, Bipolar disorder, and Anorexia nervosa. However, people go for therapy because they are stressed or experiencing relationship issues. So, you don’t need to have a diagnosed mental health issue if you want to go for therapy.
Psychotherapy treatment benefits adults, couples, teens, and kids equally. Many people go for group therapy, which is another great option. In this form of therapy, a group of people meets regularly and share similar experiences. A therapist will set various topics for discussion in
the group. Group therapy can help with challenging experiences, strengthen relationship-building skills, and build community.
Who can Provide Psychotherapy?
It is provided by mental health professionals. They received the appropriate education and secured it with the relevant licensing. Mental health professionals must complete a graduate program, a specific number of supervised client hours, and continuing education units. The licensure process may vary by state and type of license. The state’s regulating body is called the licensing board, which dictates the licensure process.
It is responsible for verifying every therapist’s education, supervising client hours, and continuing education units. They ensure those practising adhere to state and federal laws and the relevant code of ethics. The licensing board is very important because issues with therapists can be reported to these people. The professionals can provide therapy after acquiring the proper licensure and training. However, there is a difference between each type of education the professional titles pursued:
- Licensed counsellors: They attend clinical counsellor master’s programs.
- Licensed clinical psychologists: Psychologists earn a doctorate in psychology (PsyD) or a PhD in psychology.
- Licensed marriage and family therapists: They must earn master’s degrees in marriage and family therapy.
- Licensed clinical social workers: They receive a master’s degree in social work.
- Psychiatrists: They attended medical school, obtained a DO or MD, and completed their psychiatry residency before becoming board-certified. So they are allowed to prescribe medication.
- Psychiatric nurses: Psychiatric nurses are mental health nurses and attend psychiatric mental health nursing programs.
- Psychiatric nurse practitioner: They attend graduate nurse practitioner programs. Some receive the master’s level, and others are doctorate programs. Psychiatric nurse practitioners can prescribe medication.
What is Counseling?
Counselling is very similar to therapy as it provides help and support to overcome various issues in your life. These issues can range from emotional to even educational and life-stage issues (American Psychological Association (APA)). This means you could seek out counselling for everything from dealing with an anxiety disorder to struggles with settling into retirement. The definition of counselling shows that rather than focusing on interventions, active listening and advice are big parts of how change is created. This definition of counselling may leave you wondering how it differs from therapy.
Therapists serve as facilitators for client growth, and counsellors serve more as advisers. They provide short-term advice to deal with specific problems. A counsellor could provide support by suggesting coping skills when you are recovering from substance use disorder. The therapist may help you explore the link between past trauma and the urge to self-medicate with drugs and alcohol. Counselling is available for adults, couples, teens, families, children, and groups like psychotherapy.
Who can Provide counselling?
Counselling can be provided by licensed mental health providers, just like psychotherapy. Clinical counsellors and licensed clinical social workers are the most common licensed professionals who provide counselling. Sometimes, counselling may be provided by someone who is not necessarily licensed. However, psychotherapy must be provided by a licensed professional. Peer counsellors are a good example; the person not necessarily licensed provides counselling.
A peer counsellor is someone who has experienced a certain hardship, such as domestic violence. Then, receive specialised training in their hardship from an organisation and how to support others to deal with similar issues. The peer counsellor will then provide help and support to those people as someone who has survived the same thing themselves. Life coaches (also refer as mental health coaches) are also examples of this. They are not licensed practitioners and do not have to adhere to any regulatory body.
This is why coaching is not the same as therapy. Coaching is a form of help and support that is very goal-oriented, with the hope of supporting people in making real changes in their lives. Coaches also need no educational requirements and are not governed by a regulatory body. Therapy is also goal-oriented, but it will always focus on reducing mental health symptoms either caused by general stress or a serious mental health condition. A coach can promise to help you heal your trauma or overcome a mental health condition but does not obtain the relevant clinical training to ethically offer these services.
How Therapy and Counselling are Similar?
Therapy and counselling are both treatments commonly used for mental health problems. Both involve talking with a trained mental health professional. During sessions, you talk about feelings, thoughts, and behaviours that help them understand the issues and how to manage them. This is because therapy is often used interchangeably term with counselling.
How Therapy and Counselling are Different?
Counselling focuses on one specific issue and is a short-term treatment. In this, you may learn coping and problem-solving techniques. However, therapy treats a broader range of mental health issues and more complex issues. Therapy can be a long-term treatment, depending on your problem. The goals also depend on the type of therapy or counselling offered. It includes understanding and changing behaviour patterns, helping people learn to cope and overcome their responses to life’s stresses. So people can feel more fulfilled and have more satisfying relationships and lives.
What Type of Therapy is the Best for You?
If you are trying to figure out where to start, before starting your treatment, think about your current difficulties and what you expect from treatment. You can also read about the different types of therapies available. This will help you choose the right one. Reading mental health professionals’ profiles also helps determine who may be a good fit.
Types of Therapy
Many types of psychotherapy are available, so reading about them can help you out:
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)
It focuses on exploring a person’s thoughts, feelings and behaviours and replacing distressing ones with positive ones. A therapist will work with a person to uncover unhealthy thought patterns that may be causing self-destructive behaviours. Then, help change those harmful thinking patterns and behaviours.
Psychodynamic therapy
It is a talking treatment focused on uncovering that thoughts and feelings you may not be aware of cause problems such as anxiety, depression, poor self-esteem and difficulty with relationships. The therapist helps you explore these and become more aware of your unconscious thoughts and feelings. They also help to develop healthier ways of dealing with painful thoughts and feelings. The treatment goals include improving how one feels about oneself, relates to others, and copes with stress.
Dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT)
It was initially developed to treat chronically suicidal people with borderline personality disorder (BPD). With time, DBT has been adapted to treat people with multiple different mental health issues. However, most people who are treated with DBT have BPD as a primary diagnosis. The therapy focuses on distress tolerance, regulating emotions, developing interpersonal skills, and mindfulness.
Interpersonal therapy
It focuses on a person’s relationships with others, aiming to improve the person’s interpersonal skills.
Mentalisation-based therapy
It helps people develop the skill of mentalising, which means understanding their feelings and considering the feelings of others. Mentalisation-based therapy (MBT) can bring long-term improvement to people with borderline personality disorder (BPD).
Which Mental Health Professional Can Help You?
Many different types of mental health professionals can provide psychotherapy or talking therapy:
Psychiatrist
It is a medical doctor specialising in diagnosing and treating mental health issues and prescribing medications. Some psychiatrists provide psychotherapy during their treatment, and some will refer to another mental health provider for this treatment.
Psychologist
It has a doctoral level of training in psychology. It can diagnose and treat mental health issues, perform psychological testing and provide psychotherapy.
Licensed social worker
At a minimum, it has a bachelor’s degree in social work. However, a licensed independent social worker obtains at least a master’s degree with two years of supervision. They are trained to diagnose and treat mental health issues, provide psychotherapy, advocate for patients, provide case management, and perform discharge planning(in the hospital).
A licensed professional clinical counsellor
At a minimum, it obtains a master’s degree in counselling, psychology, or a related field, followed by two years of supervision. They are trained to help people identify goals and solutions to emotional problems, improve coping skills and self-esteem and promote behaviour change.
A licensed marriage and family therapist
It has a doctoral or master’s degree in marriage and family therapy with at least two years of clinical experience. They are trained to diagnose and treat mental health disorders within the context of marriage, couples and family systems.
Psychiatric or mental health nurse
It has specialised training in mental health. It can assess mental health issues and may provide psychotherapy depending on their training and certification level.
Tips for Finding a Therapist or Counsellor
- Talk to your primary care doctor to request a referral or list of options.
- You can also talk to people you know who are already in therapy to get recommendations for a therapist. This way, you can learn what they like or don’t like about their therapist.
- Look up the providers covered under your plan if you use insurance. Find out what the insurance covers and how many sessions are covered per year.
- You can use websites and read the reviews to know if a therapist will be a good fit for you.
