What is the difference between psychologist and psychotherapist briefly

Different psychological professions are often confused.

They all seem to be doing the same thing. Their areas of expertise are different and they work differently.
Below I have briefly described the differences between them.

Psychiatristis a medically trained specialist who diagnoses and treats mental disorders. Moreover, he treats exclusively with medications (pills).
Such mental illnesses are associated with damage to mental functions -   thinking, attention, perception, and what about behavioral disorders - aggressiveness or increased excitability (for example, schizophrenia, manic depressive psychosis, depression, alcoholism, suicidal behavior and many others.) Psychiatrist  He treats and does not deal with mental health..

Psychotherapist and psychologist  work exclusively with the norm, that is, with healthy people. Therefore, the task of these specialists is to understand the extent of the problems and, if necessary, send them to see a psychiatrist. Usually, an indication of the seriousness of the situation is the client’s low ability to socially adapt.
If the psychiatrist deems it possible, then after drug treatment or in parallel, the client visits  a psychologist or psychotherapist.
If mental problems are triggered by external factors, then you can try to get by with medications, but only a specialist can solve this.
Psychotherapist  has a diploma in psychology and, in addition, many years of training in his method of therapy (with a large number of hours of personal therapy, practice, supervision (observation of experienced colleagues). That is, he is not a theorist, but a specialized practitioner on working with healthy people.
Work and methods are strictly regulated in psychotherapy and scientifically proven.  There are certain indicators that the psychotherapist relies on when building a therapy strategy.  The goal of psychotherapy is to help the client find resources and ways to solve the problem, correct behavior and thinking with the support of a specialist.  Relationships, as opposed to pharmacology, in the case of a psychiatrist, play a key role in therapy.  They are based on complete trust and support.  The psychotherapist does not give advice, does not make friends and does not sleep with the client.

Psychotherapy is very diverse. There are more than 400 approaches and modalities. Cognitive behavioral, client centered, gestalt approach and many others. Psychoanalysis is just one of these approaches, the oldest, founded by Sigmund Freud.  The therapist in this method is a psychoanalyst.

Psychologist has a diploma in psychology, but has not received psychotherapeutic education. He can be involved in science, diagnostics or working with clients. As a rule, short-term consultations, since there is no experience in psychotherapy. In our universities, psychologists are not taught practice, or taught poorly; the main emphasis is on theory. Clinical psychologists – have more practical training and can work with clients.

I have many years of experience in private psychotherapy practice. Of course, I am a certified psychotherapist in the method of positive cross-cultural psychotherapy. And I have a master's degree in psychology. If you need situational help, then I can offer psychological consultations, and if you decide to change a long-standing problem, then I invite you to psychotherapy.  You can sign up by clicking the button below. I offer psychological assistance in person in Kyiv or online. I hope this article has helped you understand how helping professions differ from each other.

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