Psychologist, psychotherapist and psychiatrist
Psychologist, psychotherapist and psychiatrist are three different mental health professions that differ in the scope of their qualifications, their approach to treatment and the type of help they can provide to patients. Here are the main differences between them:
Education and Qualifications:
- Psychologist: A psychologist holds a master's or doctoral degree in psychology. Their main area of work is the diagnosis and treatment of emotional and behavioral problems through psychological therapy. Psychologists are not allowed to prescribe medication.
- Psychotherapist: Psychotherapists are psychologists or other mental health professionals who have obtained additional qualifications in therapy. They may offer various forms of therapy, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, cognitive therapy, systemic therapy, etc. Psychotherapists focus on helping patients understand and resolve their mental problems.
- Psychiatrist: A psychiatrist is a doctor who has graduated from medical school and obtained a specialization in psychiatry. They are qualified to diagnose mental disorders, prescribe psychotropic drugs and provide drug therapy. Psychiatrists are involved in both drug therapy and psychotherapy, but their main area of work is treating mental disorders with medication.
Treatment approach:
- Psychologist: Psychologists focus on working with patients in a more psychological and therapeutic way. Their goal is to help patients understand and deal with their emotions, thoughts and behaviors.
- Psychotherapist: Psychotherapists use a variety of therapeutic techniques to help patients deal with mental problems. They work to change the patient's thoughts, feelings and behaviors.
- Psychiatrist: Psychiatrists diagnose and treat mental disorders with psychotropic drugs. They may also offer psychotherapeutic therapy, but often in a more drug-focused manner.
Drug treatment:
- Psychologist: Psychologists are not authorized to prescribe drugs and do not provide drug treatment.
- Psychotherapist: Psychotherapists can offer psychotherapeutic treatment, but are not authorized to prescribe medication. If a patient needs drug treatment, they will be referred to a psychiatrist.
- Psychiatrist: Psychiatrists are the only mental health professionals who are authorized to prescribe psychotropic drugs and provide drug therapy.
In summary, psychologists, psychotherapists and psychiatrists differ in their training, their approach to treatment and the type of help they can provide to patients. Choosing the right specialist depends on the type of mental problems the patient has and the patient's preference for psychological or pharmacological therapy. Often psychotherapeutic and pharmacological therapies are used together in the treatment of mental disorders.
Choosing the right psychotherapist
Choosing the right psychotherapist is an important decision that can have a significant impact on your mental and emotional health. Here are some steps to help you find the right specialist:
- Understand the differences between types of therapists: There are many different psychotherapeutic schools and approaches, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, psychoanalytic psychotherapy, family therapy, cognitive therapy and many others. Understanding the differences between them can help you determine which approach is best for you.
- Determine your therapy goals: Before you start looking for a therapist, think about what goals you would like to achieve through therapy. Is it about dealing with anxiety, depression, relationship problems or other difficulties? This will help you find a therapist who specializes in the right area.
- Find therapists in your area: You can begin your search for a therapist by using a variety of sources, such as the Internet, recommendations from family doctors or friends. You can also use online databases of therapists or ask for help from mental health organizations.
- Find out if you are compatible with your therapist: The relationship with your therapist is crucial to the success of therapy. Make sure you feel comfortable and that you can trust your therapist to talk about your most difficult problems.
- Ask questions: feel free to ask your therapist questions about his or her approach, working style and therapeutic plan. This will help you better understand what the therapy will look like and whether you are ready for this collaboration.
Choosing the right psychotherapist can be a time-consuming process, but it is worth the time and effort to find someone who will support you and help you achieve your therapeutic goals. After all, a good therapeutic relationship is crucial to the success of therapy.
Common problems for which you can receive immediate and effective help during a consultation with a psychotherapist:
1) Want to improve your mood, concentration and organisation at work?
Becoming aware of the problem brings understanding and a sense of relief. It is important to look at what has happened and what may have contributed to the condition. Finding a way out or a solution to a difficult situation creates hope and regains a sense of influence over your life. Sometimes it can be the case that accepting a loss in an unresolvable situation, that is, experiencing the loss and "talking it through" with someone who understands and names what you are feeling, gives a sense of relief. Gaining the skills to experience and come to terms with loss can be a key element in the process of regaining peace.
2) Do you want to learn to cope in a healthy way with insecurity, the threat of deadlines and a flurry of responsibilities?
Becoming aware of the complexity of one's own body at the level of emotions, physiology, thoughts and behaviour can help to overcome a persistent sense of problem. This is how the whole person functions. Physiology, emotion, behaviour and thought - a stir in any part triggers everything at once. After talking to a specialist, we can deal with automatic thoughts, emotions, physiological conditions and ultimately change our own behaviour.
3) Do you want to learn how to look at your own goals, problems and set priorities from a distance?
In life, often high expectations originating from early childhood, parental or school expectations influence us to overreact. Sometimes occurring attacks of anxiety or panic related to work and family matters become an opening moment for the desire to look more consciously within oneself. These stressful events, which happen to each of us in everyday situations, cause us to focus more not on the content of the task, but on the number of issues and the emotions associated with them. These high expectations of ourselves hinder us from achieving our goals and take away the energy needed to look at current affairs from a distance. In a talk with a psychotherapist, you can learn both in depth and in a task-oriented/technical way how to cope with a multitude of tasks or information, so that you can function more effectively in everyday life, set priorities or values and bring harmony.
4) Do you want to learn how to improve relationships with your family, children by building healthy communication?
You can see what attitudes are wrong, and you are able to come to an awareness of the source of the conflict on the basis of a conversation with a psychotherapist. During such a conversation, it is a matter of looking at the real causes and correctly interpreting what was at the root of the communication problem with your loved ones. Often, even in an ordinary conversation, we use mechanisms that make us attack the other person in our own defense, which automatically triggers a similar reaction from the other side, leading to unnecessary escalation of the conflict. Understanding the causes of the conflict and being able to build communication based not on defence mechanisms that have often been perpetuated for many years, but on empathy and consensus building (also in the case of children in combination with behavioural techniques adapted to the age of the child), gives the possibility to improve and heal the relationship, which will translate into all areas of life.
5) Want to learn how to develop good relationships in stressful work situations?
How you can help with the skills needed to build healthy communication: To build healthy relationships based on empathy, it is essential to be aware of your own communication style and how it is perceived by others. A step towards consciously influencing the improvement of workplace relationships in everyday activities is the ability to communicate based on understanding the intentions of the interlocutor. The way to do this is to develop the capacity for empathy and the ability to name emotions. During a conversation with a psychotherapist, it is possible to clarify the mechanisms and to adapt and improve communication in a specific situation, which, if you are willing to work further, can be the basis for improving relationships with loved ones and at work.
6) Do you want to learn how to cope with stress related to health crises, family crises, accidents and learn how to communicate with others in these situations?
Every person occasionally experiences situational crises, connected with unexpected, sudden, shocking and intense events, which may consequently shake the sense of security, health, important plans, relations or own perception. In such a situation, mechanisms are triggered which may lead to the breakdown of skills developed over the years for coping with stressful situations. Familiar phases appear, starting with an emotional outburst, through denial, intrusion, overworking and ending. Knowledge of these stages is the basis for working on one's own emotional state, as well as a skill that will allow one to build communication and relationships with people in crisis.
The most important thing is to be able to become aware of and not fall into confinement in a situation that is unsolvable, so as not to end up remaining depressed, for example after the loss of a loved one. Just being aware and normalising these events, and being aware of the stages of coping with the crisis can give a person a sense of relief. The ability to name what is happening, to describe or "talk it through" allows a person to not cut themselves off from their own emotions and feelings. Denial and suppression leads to the activation of a mechanism that is not developmental, but will lead to deeper and deeper isolation. Focusing on a chosen phase and not knowing how to experience and allowing for the possibility of loss is an important part of learning to deal with one's own emotions, and developing empathy in everyone's life.