Psychologist, Psychiatrist, Psychotherapist, Psychoanalyst. What Is The Difference? When And To Whom To Contact

Table of contents:

Video: Psychologist, Psychiatrist, Psychotherapist, Psychoanalyst. What Is The Difference? When And To Whom To Contact

Video: Psychologist, Psychiatrist, Psychotherapist, Psychoanalyst. What Is The Difference? When And To Whom To Contact
Video: What is the difference between Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Psychotherapists, and Counsellors? 2024, March
Psychologist, Psychiatrist, Psychotherapist, Psychoanalyst. What Is The Difference? When And To Whom To Contact
Psychologist, Psychiatrist, Psychotherapist, Psychoanalyst. What Is The Difference? When And To Whom To Contact
Anonim

About three years ago, at the Festival of Practical Psychology, I presented a workshop on the differences between specialists from different helping professions. And I often have to clarify over and over again who is who and who when to contact. The cinema and the press sometimes create a contradictory and distorted picture of what kind of specialist can be useful in what

I'll start with the basic education of specialists: a psychologist and a psychiatrist. Surprisingly, even they are often confused

Psychologist graduated from the Faculty of Psychology. He theoretically knows the foundations of many different areas of psychology - individual, social, age, animal psychology, etc. If the university was purely academic, then this, in general, is all. His practical skills are limited by the ability to conduct testing, engage in research activities and explanatory, educational work. The same applies to a psychologist who has defended a dissertation or is teaching at an institute, if, again, we are talking about academic education.

Specialization clinical psychology »Expands the range of practice to the possibility of diagnosing deviations, disorders, deficiencies: personality and character disorders, developmental delays, disorders and impairments of attention, memory, thinking, and also to carry out corrective work, - to conduct, for example, classes on the development of attention, correction of dysgraphia, dyslexia, stuttering, etc.

Let's go further. Psychiatrist … This is doctor, he graduated from medical school with a degree in psychiatry. He knows how, after conducting a clinical conversation, to make a diagnosis - from the circle great psychiatry (e.g. schizophrenia, manic-depressive disorder), minor psychiatry - panic, affective disorder, clinical depression, etc. or not detect any disorder and diagnose "healthy". This specialist is necessary if there is a suspicion of a serious disorder and medical support or hospitalization is required, if a person behaves strange and unpredictable, can harm himself or others. Doctor selects schemes of drug effects on the psyche, corrects them in the dynamics of monitoring the patient, is well versed in the nomenclature of old and new drugs, their combinations, dosages, and also, which is also important, ways to reduce the side effects of selected drugs. Its purpose is to chemically reduce or completely eliminate the patient's symptoms.

Now we turn to the profession called Psychotherapist … This immediately creates serious confusion for the patient. According to the laws adopted in our country, it can only be a continuation of medical specialization. A domestic psychiatrist can hang a sign on the office Psychotherapist »After several months of training in rational psychotherapy (it is she who is taught in the courses).

According to European standards psychotherapist - it is a separate, independent profession … European training format psychotherapist long, difficult and costly. These are many hundreds of hours of lectures, seminars and practical exercises. Several years of his own psychotherapy in the method that is being studied (at least two or three, but usually much more, because his own unresolved conflicts and traumas should not interfere with work). And also many hours of regular supervision with high-class specialists recognized in the field. This is a deep knowledge of oneself, the gradual mastering of the subtleties of the method, finding one's own style.

There are many areas of psychotherapy - psychoanalytic, Jungian, behavioral, gestalt therapy, psychodrama, Rogerian, rational, etc. It can be short-term (up to a year) and long-term, long-term. Intense, several times a week, or infrequently, once a week. There are individual forms of work, and there are group ones. Teaching a specific method and his own experience enables the therapist to understand which form to use in a particular case. There is, of course, another factor of reality - psychotherapy is not included in Russian insurance programs, and this is an expensive business. And the most suitable option may, unfortunately, not be available. This does not necessarily mean that a more budgetary option (more rare meetings or a group instead of individual work) will not help. It can become the initial stage, support, remove some of the problems, including, perhaps, allow you to gain internal permission to earn more and take better care of yourself. You can contact a psychotherapist with any mental suffering, communication disorder, after mental and or physical trauma, loss, with a decrease or complete loss of the opportunity to work, make friends or love. Your subjective discomfort is the main criterion

It should be noted that psychotherapy - it is always a word treatment. Even if it is a playful method, such as psychodrama, or expressive - such as art therapy or dance-movement, there is always a conversation that reveals the symbolic meaning of what is happening in mental life, the meaning of the sensations and actions that have arisen, their causes and goals.

Psychoanalyst becomes psychotherapist, who masters a deep, long-term and frequent (3-5 times a week for 5-8 years) method of work using a traditional couch. The patient lying on the couch does not see the psychoanalyst during the session, he is focused on his experiences and fantasies. There are now many schools of psychoanalysis, almost in every country where this kind of practice is developing, its own, and sometimes not one, school with slightly different views on the frequency of meetings, the manner of interpretation and emphasis on one theory or another. If you strive for a more complete, conscious understanding of yourself, improving the quality of life, stability and reliability, and you have the motivation to seriously invest in this, then you should go to a psychoanalyst.

Well, and finally about psychoanalytic therapy. This is a method based on psychoanalytic theory, but the same "budget" option, quite affordable, suitable in most cases and well developed at the moment. Meetings with a therapist on average twice a week. The duration, again, is on average two to five years.

Choose your option!

Recommended: