Some of what has been previously posted here is right and some is wrong.

Counselors are not less regulated. Anyone can take on the name Counselor or Therapist. There are life coaches who call themselves counselors and spiritual advisors who call themselves therapists. Neither of these people have (in most cases) a degree.

What needs to be looked at is the difference between fields. For instance, there are different types of therapists. Massage therapists, respiratory therapists. But those individuals are not mental health practitioners. Most people in the mental health field will call themselves a therapist. In reality, a lot of these people hold different titles based off their degrees. Social workers do this a lot. They are considered therapists but really, they're Social Workers with clinical mental health training. Some psychologists and psychiatrists call themselves therapists as well. So really, the term therapist is an umbrella label given to practitioners.

Technically, the only individuals who are by their degree called counselors are LPCs (Licensed Professional Counselor) and LCPCs (Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor) The same goes with the term therapist. MFT's are Marriage and Family Therapists by title.

Now, let's talk about the difference between counseling and therapy.

They are SIMILAR but not exactly the same. They have the same goal, to help the client, but are different in both schools of thought and training.

Therapy recognizes that an individual comes in seeking treatment in order to return to a prior, more positive, level of functioning. These individuals are often seen in the eyes of a medical model, meaning that therapy sees individuals as having a "problem" that needs fixing. In essence, it is about restorative function.

Counseling on the other hand sees the person in a different way through the eyes of a wellness and wholeness model. Counseling sees the individual as a whole and not just as the presenting concern or issue. Counseling would seek to point out the positives and does not see the individual as broken and in need of fixing. An individual is seen as being on a journey and at some juncture required help to continue on in their life journey. It's about making meaning of whatever is going on in that individual's life.

LPCs, LCPC's, Psychologists, Psychiatrists, LSW, and LCSWs are all trained differently and hold different ideas as to how they believe is the best approach to mental health treatment.

Generally, Psychiatrists are the only individuals allowed to prescribe medications, aside from primary MDs. In some states with additional training, some Psychologists are allowed to prescribe medication, but that is a fairly new trend.

If you want to know more about the treatment you are receiving, my advice is to see individuals with at least a Masters degree. Check out their credentials and licenses and see what those credentials and licenses mean. And then look and see how each of these credentials and licenses are trained and what they believe is the best approach to mental health treatment. They are all different and distinct.

Many mental health practitioners themselves do not know the difference between therapy and counseling. We have to be in charge of our care. We know what works best for us.