Psychotherapy vs. Psychology vs. Psychiatry
Confused yet? Let’s break it down
First, let’s tackle the term of therapy. When someone says they are seeing a therapist or are in therapy they generally mean that they are seeing someone, one to one, for sessions that involve talking about and experiencing your emotions, working through problems and getting some assistance with things that trouble you.
When you’re looking to see someone to help you, for example, manage your anxiety, or deal with the transition to motherhood, or cope with relationship difficulties, you may seek out any of these mental health professionals:
Psychiatrist
Psychologist
Psychotherapist
Let’s break it down:
Psychiatrist:
This is the most simple to define and differentiate. Psychiatrists have a medical degree, they are doctors who have done a specialty in psychiatry. They can diagnose you with mental health conditions for example, PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) or GAD (generalised anxiety disorder). Most importantly, they then prescribe medication to help treat your condition. You may be put on an SSRI or an anti depressant to help you manage your moods and stress for example.
Psychiatrists are great if you want medication to help quickly relieve some of your mental distress. They often do monthly or quarterly check ins with you where you discuss the medication and other related topics.
Psychologist:
In Australia, psychologists must complete a minimum of 6 years of education, training and experience. The degree is research heavy with a focus on the scientifically proven therapeutic modalities including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) or Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) among others. Psychologists can diagnose, like psychiatrists, and do psychometric testing. They are covered under the mental health care plan if you receive a referral from your GP (meaning you get 10 discounted sessions).
Psychologists are typically great at short term therapy. For example, they can give you strategies and tips to manage anxiety or deal with a break up.
Psychotherapist:
Psychotherapists must have relevant tertiary qualifications (bachelors degree or above). Their training and degrees are more experiential in nature with lots of time spent practicing as a therapist. They can choose which modality of therapy to study, focusing on one like Gestalt Psychotherapy or learning a bit about multiple and practicing an integrative approach. In this way, they would pick the modality that best suits each client.
Psychotherapists are great if you want to get to the root, underlying causes of your problem. Psychotherapy is usually a long-term process that helps you create lasting change.
Don’t just take my word for it - there’s other fascinating articles written on this topic for further reading:
Another Psychotherapist's Opinion
ABOUT ME:
I have a Bachelors degree (with honours) in Psychology and a Masters degree in Counselling and Applied Psychotherapy. Thus, I personally have a respect for research and scientifically backed ways of practicing therapy like a psychologists. I also, like a psychotherapist, want to uncover the root causes of problems as I believe that is what creates the most enduring, life long change. Further, I find that long term work, on a weekly basis, over months and years is what will really contribute to you feeling and being different.