A psychiatrist is a doctor, as in M.D., and, nowadays, all a psychiatrist is going to do is order medication. That might, or might not, help.

Very often, a depressed person has an approach to life that is just not working. Changing that approach is, often, what needs to happen for there to be any chance of getting some relief from the depression. That's what counseling, or therapy, is for. It's really not for the purpose of having someone to vent to, or a place to "get it all out." At least it's not for those things, unless you have loads of money to pay for that. If you want counseling as a form of healthcare, then it should be geared toward helping you live a healthier life.

It is perfectly normal for anyone to not want to be told that they are approaching life in a way that is not working out. You probably feel you are trying very hard to do the best you know how, and I suspect you are. That's what most people are doing. But you are unhappy with the results. So you need to figure out what you need to do differently. It can feel unpleasantly challenging to have someone critique your approach to life. Good therapists try to validate what you are doing that makes sense, along with helping you see what isn't working. A lot of what you are doing is productive, or your life would be way worse than it is.

Psychologists and licensed clinical counselors, basically, do the same thing, except that psychologists have more education. That doesn't necessarily mean they do a better job of helping people. Success in therapy does have a lot to do with the rapport that occurs between you and the practitioner you are seeing. The person you see has to be able to tell you things that you may not be happy to hear. At the same time, I don't think you can be helped much by a person who, basically, dislikes you. Therapists are human and they can't help but find some people dislikeable. I think that happens more than people realize or admit. You need someone who believes in your potential and will encourage you to believe in it.

Just about anyone you tell your story to can see things that you are not seeing. But communication needs to be productive. If not, then you are just spinning you wheels. Make another attempt at it with someone new. It should involve you being challenged, but you shouldn't be leaving the sessions always feeling worse. What would be the point of that?

All of the practitioners we've discussed can be called psychotherapists. The word just means someone who offers therapy to clients with psych issues. Medication is a form of therapy. Counseling is a form of therapy.

Psychiatrists and psychologists are qualified to make a diagnosis. Counselors, these days, do go around making all kinds of diagnoses, but I don't consider them really qualified to do that. Lots of people disagree with me on that. The government of the United States agrees with me. For legal purposes, a diagnosis made by a person who doesn't have M.D. or PhD after their name won't hold water.

A lot of people are very invested in getting diagnosed. Often that becomes a distraction from dealing with the problem. To say you are depressed because you have a mood disorder is circular thinking, IMHO. It tells you nothing really worth knowing. You want to know how can your life be better. Just about anyone can improve their life, if they learn better ways of coping. I hope you find someone who can help you do that.