The difference between a psychologist, psychotherapist and a psychiatrist

When you are confused in thoughts, feelings, relationships and life in general, who can help?  How do different specialists differ from each other?

 Psychiatrist – a doctor who treats mental illnesses. (severe such as drug addiction, alcoholism, schizophrenia, and mild - neuroses, stress disorders).  He treats mainly with medication or physiotherapy. It is he who makes psychiatric diagnoses.

Psychotherapist -  a doctor or a psychologist who has undergone appropriate training. And it heals through conversation, searching for internal conflicts and ways out.  The psychotherapist works exclusively with mild forms of disorders and borderline disorders. Depending on the method in which the psychotherapist was trained, he may be proficient in hypnosis or other psychological techniques, game forms, body-oriented techniques.
The area in which psychotherapy works well is psychosomatic disorders, when therapists, neurologists, gastroenterologists, dermatologists, cardiologists , endocrinologists do not see any physical causes of the disease and methods of treatment.
Psychosomatic problems include VSD, ulcers, asthma, chronic fatigue syndrome, psoriasis.

Psychoanalyst – a psychotherapist who works in the method of psychoanalysis developed by Sigmund Freud.  Psychoanalysis can last from 5 to 15 years, while the client must attend sessions several times a week. This is long, expensive and not necessarily effective.
The therapist himself undergoes personal therapy for 4 years, then manages 2 patients under supervision and theoretical training for several more years. Many psychotherapists deceive clients by saying “I am a psychoanalyst,” but do not have the appropriate education.

Psychologist is a specialist with a diploma in psychology)). He conducts tests and diagnostics, but cannot diagnose or treat, since he is not a doctor. For the most part, psychologists do not treat, but are involved in personnel management, personnel selection, career guidance, marketing, pedagogy, social work.
Nevertheless, a psychologist can conduct psychological counseling - help healthy people find a way out of difficult situations, but of course if the person does not has serious emotional and mental problems.

Clinical psychologists help the doctor identify the mental characteristics of patients through testing. Medical psychologists are already doctors, they help patients with somatic problems, and do not treat mental disorders.

I hope this article was useful to you and will help you decide on the choice of a specialist.
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