What is the difference between psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and psychotherapists?
A psychiatrist is a physician and has been uniquely trained in prescribing psychotropic medication. In our managed care world, most psychiatrists do not see people for psychotherapy. A psychologist has a Ph.D. or Psy.D. degree and has been trained in counseling and psychological testing. Some however have had other types of training such as research or working with businesses. A social worker has an M.S.W. degree and is trained in working with social service programs and psychosocial counseling. A psychotherapist is generally someone with a Master’s Degree in some area of counseling or a religion degree. It is important to understand their training, degree, and license(s) and certification. Before beginning psychotherapy with anyone, it can be helpful to check with their particular licensing board to see if there are any outstanding complaints about them or any type of disciplinary action that has occurred.
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