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WinterRose said:
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sunrise said:
I always think that a psychiatrist (who is a medical doctor) has patients but a therapist has clients. My therapist is of the humanistic school, which emphasizes thinking about mental health in terms of what is normal and healthy rather than what is abnormal and pathological. I think the term patient calls to mind a person with medical problems, and this is not how a humanistic therapist sees people.

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I agree with sunrise. Client is a more pro-active term while patient lends to the idea of dependance and lack of involvement in my mind. I recently came across a new word though - analysand for someone in psychoanalysis. That sounds kinda fun. Thought maybe there could be a another word created called therisand for those in therapy. What do you think?

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Wow, I am in analysis, but I have never heard of analysand. Never heard of it in my schooling, either. I work in the mental health, and everyone at my agency calls the clients "consumers." I HATE that. A consumer is someone who buys a car, a bag of chips. You can't consume mental health!! I go for clients, both for myself, and for the individuals that I serve. I feel the same way for my pdoc-- I guess working in the field makes me feel that way. I work with a pdoc at my agency, and I don't see my clients as his "patients." Interesting to see it from all different sides.