difference between "mental" and "psychological"?

this is asking about the difference between these words - mental and
psychologial.
it's from a book that talks about areas of our functioning: such as
physiological, psychological, mental, spiritual, etc.

Around here in the clinton community college psychology classes, the plattsburgh state psychology classes and in varouis mental health agencies the two words - "mental" and "psychological" are siynonyms of each other meaning the two words mean the same thing - having to do with the mind, being carried out in the mind with out being accompanied by physical actions ie thinking about getting a drink but not physically getting a drink., the problem is how the person thinks the glass of water contains poison when in reality the water contains no poison, not about their hands shake when they pick up the glass because they have parkinsons disease.

Well... Different people use different terms in different ways, I guess. Personally... I would say that what is most likely to be going on here is that in the attempt to be as holistic as possible they are embracing redundancy. Don't even get me started on the distinction between mental / psychological and spiritual...

Perhaps they go on to define their terms or at least provide examples so that you can get some kind of handle on what it is that they are trying to talk about?

Good question!!!

Here's what I found in Webster's Medical Dictionary:

Main Entry: MENTAL
men·tal Pronunciation: \ˈment-əl\ Function: adjective

1 a: of or relating to the mind; specifically : of or relating to the total emotional and intellectual response of an individual to external reality b: of or relating to intellectual as contrasted with emotional activity

2 a: of, relating to, or affected by a psychiatric disorder <a mental patient> b: intended for the care or treatment of persons affected by psychiatric disorders <mental hospitals>
— men·tal·ly \-əl-ē\ adverb

Main Entry: PSYCHOLOGICAL
psy·cho·log·i·cal: Pronunciation: \ˌsī-kə-ˈläj-i-kəl\

Variant(s): also psy·cho·log·ic \-ik\
Function: adjective

1 a: relating to, characteristic of, directed toward, influencing, arising in, or acting through the mind especially in its affective or cognitive functions <psychological phenomena> <the psychological aspects of a problem> b: directed toward the will or toward the mind specifically in its cognative function <psychological warfare>

2: relating to, concerned with, deriving from, or used in psychology <psychological research> <psychological tests> <a psychological clinic>
— psy·cho·log·i·cal·ly \-ē\ adverb

So...pretty much the same I guess.

I have been trying to understand the difference between these two terms or concepts, and I was wondering if anyone thought a good way to derive it from the Webster's Medical definition above, is to believe that mental is a "response" to something while psychological is the creation, a sparked or illogical thought process or something that pops up into the thinking without any known causation? Almost like the difference between paranoia vs hypervigilant. Paranoia is illogical, irrational with no causation while hypervigilance is triggered by something rational.

Anyone with any way to clarify easily?

To me I can also understand why it would be interchangeable to some thinkers. Even if something is deemed a faulty response from no known causation, there can be a causation - whether repressed or not fully understood.