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Originally Posted by spring2014
I think the LPC is wrong to call her clients as her patients . being called a patient is reserved for doctors and psychiatrists . unless the LPC is a psychologist then the client is a patient . my therapist refers me and the other people that she counsel are clients .it sounds more appropriate for an LPC or an LPCC to call their patients clients.
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In my training as an LMHC we are encouraged to use the term client. The Counselling profession takes a "wellness" approach rather than using the medical model. Since the term patient implies the presence of an illness, we are taught that client is preferable. I prefer this myself since LMHCs (or LPCs) and social workers, unless they work in an inpatient or hospital setting, are not medical professionals. I'm not a fan of calling anyone without an MD "doctor" in a medical context. So PhDs referring to themselves as a doctor and calling clients patients kinda rubs me the wrong way. That's just my own stuff though and probably not how a lot of others think.