Psychologist and psychotherapist: who they are and what is the difference between them

Psychologist and psychotherapist work with the psyche of a person. They determine his emotional state, analyze feelings, behavior and provide assistance. However, these specialists have different tasks. Let's consider what is the difference between a psychologist and a psychotherapist.

Psychologist and psychotherapist: what are the differences

People without any psychiatric diagnosis or obvious deviations work with a psychologist. Such a specialist does not need to receive medical education. He helps clients find the causes of their difficulties in the psychological and emotional plan and cope with them. He does not prescribe medications.

Psychotherapy is a type of psychiatry. Medical drugs may be used in therapy. Therefore, a psychotherapist must necessarily have a medical education. Such a specialist works with people with a conditionally healthy psyche, who have seriously disturbed emotional reactions. Such people do not have a psychiatric diagnosis and do not take strong drugs to restore mental health.

Features of the work of a psychologist

The psychologist has a higher humanitarian education in the direction of psychology. He identifies emotional and behavioral problems in people, applying such methods:

• A conversation in which a person shares his life circumstances and feelings.
• Questions that help determine the cause of emotional difficulties in a person.
• Tests developed by highly trained psychologists.
• Questionnaires that the person fills out.
• Gestalt therapy, NLP techniques.
• Group or individual sessions of psychocorrection.

The psychologist helps to eliminate disorders that are not associated with pathological changes in the brain. He works on the perception and reactions of a person to various everyday situations, helps to find options for solving problems.

Features of the work of a psychotherapist

Such a specialist has the right to prescribe medications. He works with such disorders of behavior, perception and emotional health:

• Prolonged apathy.
• Panic attacks.
• Depression; stress-related conditions.
• Phobias and neurasthenia.
• Nervous breakdowns.
• Excessive anxiety.
• Suicidal moods.
• Mild neuroses.
• Alcohol, tobacco or gambling addiction.
• Difficulties in relationships with loved ones or coworkers, conflict resolution.

The psychotherapist helps to fight some physical diseases, identifying their psychological cause. These are psychosomatic pathologies, such as allergies, dermatitis, bronchial asthma, suffocation at night, hypertension and vegetovascular dystonia, stomach diseases - colitis, gastritis, ulcers.

A psychologist also deals with such difficulties, but he can not prescribe medication. Therefore, if such a specialist discovers any psychiatric diagnosis in a client or sees the need for medical drugs, he refers the patient to a psychotherapist. However, if it is suspected that the client has a severe psychiatric illness, he is referred to a psychiatrist. He specializes mainly in the medication management of complex mental and emotional disorders.