Psychologist is a generic name for a profession (like, for example, engineer), within which there are numerous subdivisions. Psychologist is not just the person who insistently invites you to “talk about it”, but also the one who is studying memory, perception, cognition and other processes in a lab; and the one who advises politicians in their election campaigns, using knowledge of social psychology; and the one who headhunts for companies. There are even psychologists who specialize in animals. The majority of psychologists have nothing to do with couches, neuroses and dream interpretations. Usually, in order to become a psychologist one has to graduate from a university psychology department.
Among all those qualified psychologists there are those who decide to take the thorny path of psychological help and become psychotherapists and/or counselors. To do so it is necessary to chose one of the existing schools and continue studying (although some start counseling directly after graduating). The difference between the approaches seems vast and insurmountable from within the profession, although clients in most cases wouldn’t feel any difference (see How to find a suitable specialist?) Training in most of the schools implies prolonged psychotherapy and supervision of the future therapist (see Why are the sessions so expensive?) As a result, depending on the depth and length of training a psychologist can become counselor or psychotherapist. Both can help you overcome a difficult vital situation, understand yourself and improve your quality of life.
To become a coach one does not have to go through all these long years of studying. There are special programs of different duration that prepare coaches. The word itself hints at the essence of this profession: to train people to achieve specific goals in one of the areas of their lives.
If you or one of your close ones has a mental disorder, distress or illness, than you should contact a psychiatrist and/or psychotherapist. A psychiatrist, unlike all the above, is a medical doctor. He has a right to prescribe medicines (the others cannot).
The qualifications are often combined. For example, I am a clinical psychologist, existential counselor and dance/movement psychotherapist. In terms of time, it means 5 years at university, 4 years of existential analysis training, and 4 years of dance/movement therapy training.
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