Psychologist, psychiatrist and psychotherapist. What is the difference?

A psychotherapist is a psychiatrist who has completed advanced training in psychotherapy. He deals with therapeutic effects on the psyche through conversation, analysis, self-hypnosis and various auxiliary techniques (body and art therapy). As a rule, people with various psychological problems turn to a psychotherapist. Most often these are: internal and external emotional, social, personal conflicts, rehabilitation of patients with serious diseases, therapy of functional disorders that negatively affect life, work, relationships and creativity. Psychological disorders for which people turn to a psychotherapist are of mild or moderate severity. A psychiatrist is responsible for the treatment of severe mental illnesses. Therefore, people who turn to a psychotherapist are called clients, and a psychiatrist works with patients.

Psychotherapist, psychiatrist, psychologist - is there a difference between them?

Let's take a closer look at these concepts so as not to confuse specialists and the concepts of psychotherapy, psychiatry and psychology.

Content:

• Psychotherapist, psychiatrist, psychologist - is there a difference between them?
• What exactly does a psychotherapist do?
• Causes of the disease that are the subject of the medical activity of a psychotherapist
• Common causes of various psychological disorders and syndromes
• When to see a doctor
• Signs of psychological disorders or problems in children: reasons for consulting a psychotherapist
• Treatment methods used by a psychotherapist

A psychiatrist is a specialist with a higher medical education who diagnoses and treats patients with severe mental pathologies. This doctor, firstly, has the right to work with psychological consequences caused by organic brain lesions, and secondly, with severe pathologies and mental disorders, for example, schizophrenia, epilepsy, psychosis. The psychiatrist bases the prescribed treatment method mainly on medication, but also uses psychotherapeutic techniques.

The psychotherapist also has a medical education, however, in addition to oral influence on a person, he has the right to prescribe medication treatment. But it must be repeated that all people who are treated by a psychotherapist do not have severe mental pathologies. And more often the existing disorders are functional in nature.

A psychologist is a specialist who is not a doctor; he does not have the right to prescribe drug therapy, therefore he only influences the human psyche with conversation and other techniques (Gestalt therapy, body-oriented therapy, etc.). A psychologist corrects a person’s behavior in a particular stressful situation. Such a specialist has various qualifications and specializations. Therefore, he works with different age groups, provides psychological assistance in various spheres of human life - family, business, education, sports, etc. The psychologist receives a liberal arts education in the field of psychology and is not familiar with the basics of medical diagnostics, therefore he cannot determine the etiology and severity of the problem. or other mental disorder.

Thus, a psychiatrist can be both a psychotherapist and a psychologist. Psychotherapy, as a field of medicine and science, emerged at the intersection of psychology and psychiatry. A psychologist cannot perform the functional duties of a psychotherapist or psychiatrist, since he is a scientist, a theorist, but not a doctor.

How does a consultation with a psychologist go?

1. At the first session, the therapist and the patient get acquainted, rights and responsibilities are announced . The client and the specialist enter into an agreement.
2. There are limitations for a psychologist that are determined by professional ethics. He should not deceive, manipulate, must help the patient in his work and do everything possible for his personal growth.
3. The client undertakes a number of obligations - to adhere to the framework of the psychotherapeutic relationship ( arrive at the appointed time, finish on time, give the necessary explanations in case of missed sessions).
4. Also important are the commitments to cooperate with the therapist: to be open, to work on oneself (self-reflection) , to invest energy in the relationship. Mutual honesty is the key to a successful therapeutic relationship.
5. Privacy . The therapist undertakes to keep all the client’s revelations “incognito” during the session. The doctor reveals the secret only if the patient harms himself or others.
6. During the first session, the psychologist listens to the person’s problems and his expectations about how and with what methods the treatment will be carried out and what outcome he wants to get from visits to the specialist, and the therapist will talk about what changes he expects from the patient and the results of treatment.
7. At the end of the first appointment, the client will have an opinion about the specialist. If the first impression is positive, then the joint work will bear fruit.

Confidentiality and trust of the patient are very important in the work of a psychologist.
During consultations, the psychologist uses several methodological approaches:

1. problem-oriented, aimed at analyzing the external causes of the problem and finding ways to eliminate them;
2. person-oriented, aimed at analyzing the causes of problem and conflict situations based on personal characteristics, and ways to resolve and prevent them in the future;
3. a method of identifying and activating hidden resources to solve a problem.

What exactly does a psychotherapist do?

This specialist works with borderline personality states, disorders of perception and behavior. His scope of competence includes, first of all, diagnosing the client’s condition, clarifying the manifestations and symptoms that brought the person to the doctor, as well as establishing the causes of these frightening symptoms.

After the identification of the “enemy” is completed and the psychotherapist can voice the diagnosis, he decides on the possibility and advisability of the client undergoing treatment in the form of psychotherapy, and in some cases redirects his client to a psychiatrist or doctors specializing in other types of diseases, for example , oncologists, cardiologists or neurologists.

The psychotherapist prescribes not only therapeutic therapy, but also rehabilitation measures if necessary.

What is the difference between seeing a psychologist in Russia and the USA?

The whole difference is in mentality . In the United States, citizens are accustomed to solving their problems themselves, and even if they turn to psychologists, they understand that a specialist will only show them the “way to solve” the problem , but will not do everything for them.

In Russia, on the contrary, there is an opinion that a specialist will somehow mystically unravel the client’s problems and find a “miraculous” solution to their situation, but the therapist is not a psychic.

Also, people abroad have a negative attitude towards those people who give advice without asking , because they consider themselves to be quite mature and independent people. And if they need advice, they will turn to a specialist .

In post-Soviet countries, on the contrary, it is customary to talk about your problems to all your family and friends , but not to professionals.

This is partly due to little knowledge of psychology as a science and distrust of it. In parallel, in the USA it is customary to talk about personal things only to one or two closest friends and psychologists, of course.

Have you used the services of a psychologist?

Accordingly, the credibility of therapists abroad is so high that clients allow a video camera to be installed in the house to record family conflicts, and then go through the mistakes with a psychologist.

This is a good method because people who tend to cause suffering to others tend not to notice their mistakes . And their doctors are in such great demand that appointments are booked six months in advance, whereas in modern Russia only people above average income understand the need for specialist services and seek psychological help.

Causes of the disease that are the subject of the medical activity of a psychotherapist

Speaking about where psychotherapy is applied and what it treats, it is necessary to note the main organs and systems of the human body - the brain, central and peripheral nervous systems. Psychotherapy, its methods and techniques are aimed at transforming human consciousness, and sometimes it is called a medicine for the human soul.

What diseases and phenomena does a psychotherapist treat? His extensive list of competencies includes:

• stress;
• nervous breakdowns and neurasthenia;
• internal and interpersonal conflicts;
• depression and apathy;
• anxiety states, obsessive phobias and fears;
• panic attacks and disorders;
• enuresis;
• nervous tic;
• psychosomatic diseases.

For comparison, a psychiatrist carries out his medical activities in relation to schizophrenia, manic-depressive disorders, epilepsy, the consequences of intoxication with brain damage, the consequences of traumatic brain injuries, neuroses, developmental delays, alcoholism, drug addiction and some other diseases.

Common causes of various psychological disorders and syndromes

The life of a modern person is full of daily stress, negative factors and phenomena that test the psyche for strength and stability. Typically, psychotherapists note that their clients come to them for help and advice after experiencing a serious emotional shock, unpleasant or depressing events, for example:

1. Loss: not only those that have already occurred, but potentially possible, expected future losses that can lead a person to the need to receive medical care. In this case, losses mean the loss of a loved one as a result of death, divorce, separation; loss of personal health or well-being due to injury, disaster or accident; loss of job, home, material assets. A person is not always able to independently assess the real meaning of a specific loss for himself, so he is not always able to connect current anxiety symptoms with those already experienced. The task of a psychotherapist is precisely to determine the impact of loss on a person’s life, and to help in adaptively experiencing this event.
2. Failure: all of life is a process that is always in motion, until death. On this path, of course, a person experiences cycles of hopes, expectations, tasks, demands and results. In cases where expectations associated with a specific life period are not fulfilled or confirmed, this can become the cause of disorders and ailments of a psychological nature. Such emotions may be associated with old age, lack of material resources, marital status, and other factors.
3. Interpersonal conflicts: conflict situations in the family, at work, between friends, colleagues, boss and subordinate, often provoke the emergence of anxiety states and push a person to visit a psychotherapist.
4. Unpleasant symptoms and personality disorders: these can be anxiety, depression, fear, overeating, psychosomatic pain, sexual dysfunction. A person can live for decades with an ongoing feeling of anxiety or fear, in which case he will need a long course of psychotherapy to get rid of oppressive feelings and emotions.
5. Abuse of alcohol, drugs, nicotine: visiting a psychotherapist or group psychotherapy helps a person overcome an addiction that he cannot cope with on his own.

What does a psychologist treat - how can he help?

Difficulties in communication, decision making, relationships; for stress and psychological trauma: divorce, death of a loved one, physical or mental violence and much more.

A psychologist can help with stress and psychological trauma.
It is worth remembering that a specialist does not solve problems for a person , but assesses the situation from the outside, analyzes all information, taking into account temperament, character, childhood and childhood traumas , and together with a professional finds ways to solve the problem. .

There can be many problems, but several main points can be identified:

• Personality disorders (unsound self-esteem: high or low self-esteem due to improper upbringing, conflictual relationships with a partner or other persons; incorrectly chosen guidelines).
• Phobias (most often occur in early childhood up to 5-7 years).
• Neuroses : insomnia, any disorder or disorder of eating behavior: anorexia, bulimia, orthorexia, compulsive overeating, compulsive desire.
• Crisis states in certain periods of life: “adolescence”, middle-aged crisis (occurs between 30-50 years), crisis of “elegant” age .

When to see a doctor

A sudden or constant feeling of psychological discomfort often indicates mental disorders. These manifestations are alarming “bells” that a medical psychotherapist will immediately pay attention to. The most common are:

• a lingering feeling of indifference to people, events, the world around us, a state of apathy;
• periodic hysterics and attacks of panic, fear, phobias;
• feeling of craving for alcohol, nicotine, and other psychoactive substances;
• increased anxiety, irritability, tearfulness;
• depressive states;
• the presence of bad habits, behavioral disorders (for example, overeating or bulimia).

If the listed conditions or symptoms appear, it makes sense to seek medical help from a psychotherapist.