The Difference Between a Psychologist, Psychotherapist and Psychiatrist
“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your Philosophy.” (Baskin, 2019).
Shakespeare’s philosophical words speak to the larger human experience such as love, dreams, sensuality, and the imagination (Baskin, 2019). The philosophy of a Psychotherapist is that the client is the expert of their own life and the Psychotherapist’s goal is the client’s self-efficacy and self-awareness by considering the biological, social, cultural, psychological, and spiritual influences they may have (Gómez et al., 2015). The human experience is an ever-evolving holistic understanding of problems and a Psychotherapist considers all the dimensions of the client’s lived experience (Du Toit, 2021). A Psychotherapist’s approach to therapy is holistic rather than medical, thinking in terms of clients rather than in terms of patients (Gómez et al., 2015).
Psychotherapists do not pathologize their clients instead they look at the diversity of the human experience using a client’s strength, resilience, and potential for growth (Gómez et al., 2015). Psychotherapists help individuals overcome stress, emotional and relationship problems, as well as troublesome habits (NHS, 2015). A Psychotherapist may be a Psychiatrist, Psychologist or other mental health professional who has had an in-depth specialist training (NHS, 2015). Psychiatrists are medical doctors and study mental health problems and their diagnosis, management, and prevention (NHS, 2015). The discipline of Psychology is concerned with the functioning of the mind and in exploring areas such as learning, remembering and psychological development (NHS, 2015). Psychologists are usually not medically qualified and are more likely to treat severe mental illness such as psychosis or personality disorders (NHS, 2015). Psychologists are trained to conduct psychological and neuropsychological testing and to analyse and interpret human behaviour through a clinical lens (Gómez, 2015). A Psychologist’s diagnosis is their interpretation but is not necessarily scientific fact. The clinical lens is invaluable however it can at times overshadow a holistic view of clients and can be limited by the Psychologist’s own belief system (Gómez, 2015). At times when a person is pathologized, they can feel trapped in the mental illness they have been labelled with (Gómez, 2015). When the focus becomes just about the difficulty that the person is experiencing rather than on that individual’s strength there is a risk that they will over identify with the pathology rather than with their own individual identity (Gómez, 2015).
Psychotherapy avoids restrictive models of understanding human distress and labels based on pre-established categories of meaning (Du Toit, 2021). Psychotherapy’s approach is that the client is the expert of their own life and moves away from the Therapist, Psychiatrist or Psychologist acting as the expert of a patient’s life. The client as the expert of their own life is understood in Psychotherapy in the lateral respect between the therapist and the client by diminishing the existence of a hierarchy. The goal of Psychotherapy is to be open to the larger human experience of the client and to promote a client’s capacity to actively recognize and accept their responsibility and freedom to live authentically (Du Toit, 2021).
References
Du Toit, (2021, October 18). To be or not to be: what is existential psychotherapy? Top Doctors. https://www.topdoctors.co.uk/medical-articles/to-be-or-not-to-be-what-is-existential-psychotherapy
Gómez, J. M., Lewis, J. K., Noll, L. K., Smidt, A. M., & Birrell, P. J. (2015). Shifting the focus: Nonpathologizing approaches to healing from betrayal trauma through an emphasis on relational care. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 17(2), 165–185. https://doi.org/10.1080/15299732.2016.1103104
Jon Baskin (2019). Start reading Ordinary Unhappiness | Press, S. U. Www.sup.org. https://www.sup.org/books/extra/?id=29316&i=Conclusion.html
NHS. (2015, March 26). Differences between psychology, psychiatry, and psychotherapy. Health Careers. https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/psychological-therapies/differences-between-psychology-psychiatry-and-psychotherapy