[Canyon]

Just wondering what everyone's experience is with Ts of different levels of training?

I have been in therapy off and on for most of my life. I have seen therapists that from all of the categories. In my experience I found the ones with the lower level training to be the most helpful for me. Maybe they were less clinically absent and more down to earth? IDK.

I have now had 2 Ph.D level Ts and a Psy.D, for whatever reason I have not found them to be of much help.

I will say that the most helpful one I ever had was a Pdoc who also did my therapy. That's just me. What are your experiences/thoughts?

[HazelGirl]

Mine's an LCSW. I think she's wonderful. I saw a PsyD for a few sessions once, but she basically kicked me out of her office. She was very unhelpful. My Pdoc doesn't do therapy, but I'm not a huge fan of her, either.

[stopdog]

I have seen 3 lcsw's and one phd. for more than one appointment in my adult life. I have interviewed over 35 or so more mixed.
Of the ones I saw more than once - The phd was bat **** crazy.
The lcsw's were garden variety.

[gayleggg]

I've seen several in my lifetime and can't even remember them all because of thing or another but my all time favorite was a LPC, I moved and had to give her up. Now I see a LCSW and like him very much too, but we don't have that much history yet. None of my psychiatrists have done counseling.

[willowbrook]

I've been in the mental health system for 20 years. In that time I've seen pretty much every level of MH worker you could think of. Some I just didn't click with, and their approach wasn't right for me, but most were just plain incompetent, or worse. It's only been since I found my current Pdoc that I've felt I've been getting any actual help, and making progress. Not saying that Pdoc's are superior to other types of counsellors, just in my case that's who has worked for me.

[Lauliza]

It really depends on your diagnosis and what you are in therapy for. The higher degrees like psy d, phd or md have extensive clinical experience, can do psychological testing and can diagnose. Social workers and counselors do straight up therapy/ counseling and that is where their expertise is. For counseling the degree matters very little as their training is similar. It depends heavily on the individual not the degree at that point. But for the record, psychiatrists receive little or no training in counseling therapy. So many are lacking in that area and will refer patients out.

[UnderRugSwept]

I have seen Ts since I was a little girl (I am in my mind-30s now) and I have always seen Ph.Ds. I am seeing two Ts right now and a pdoc. My CBT T is a Ph.D...he's a great T, although I have found CBT to be only so helpful to me. My psychodynamic T is a LCSW/MSW; I am not so sure of his approach (whether it works well enough for me) but I don't think that has to do with his degree...I think it's just him. I loathe switching Ts though, so if it doesn't work out with him, I have already lined up another psychodynamic T that I met with once before who has a Ph.D.
I have very little use for my pdoc...he just tries to medicate me but only spends 15 minutes or so with me each appt. Since everything he has given me has either made me sick or not worked, I don't think he has much use for me either!

[Petra5ed]

I've seen 2 Psy. Ds and an LPC (masters degree level.) All of them have been good so I've been very lucky. Of all 3 I've liked the LPC by far the best, and have seen the most improvement with as well. This LPC however has a lot of experience, is well read, and really smart where as both Psy D's had less experience...

I don't think the title matters as much as the person themselves, with the exception of only MDs can prescribe medicine. If you see several T's once to evaluate them you'll definitely notice you just click more with some than others, I think that's the part that's key. It's most important that you trust their opinion and feel comfortable, and I've realized the funny thing is a lot of that is just subjective personal biases. For example, I like the LPC the best and trust his opinions the most, but I have very little personal knowledge of him to base my judgment on, it's all just gut feeling, so who knows maybe he reminds me of someone who's smart, and the Psy D. reminded me on some unconscious level of a crazy old aunt I never thought liked me... I'm just making that up, but you get the point.

[tametc]

Originally Posted by Canyon

Just wondering what everyone's experience is with Ts of different levels of training?

I have seen MSSWs, LCSW, PhD (who started out as MSSW), and LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor). The T I saw prior to my current one started out with his Master's in Social Work, then went on to receive his PhD when he was in his early 50's. Even while an MSSW, he taught mental health assessment and diagnosis to social work students and other professionals. The T I see now is LCSW. My current Pdoc started out as a pharmacist, then went to school and has his D.O. degree (doctor of osteopathy) which qualifies him to practice psychiatry. But he has blocked out extra time for me this past year to do a bit of therapy because he knew I was losing my former T. Most psychiatrists have an M.D. The LPC I saw was an excellent therapist, and worked quite well with me regarding PTSD and childhood abuse issues, plus DID. So, each "specialty" is not as narrow as the training implies.

[someone321]

Mine is Ph.D psychiatrist - he does behave like a doctor and expert, and he hates when I question him

[elaygee]

Its much more about their individual training outside of school and their personality, than the degree, in my opinion. My T is a PhD though I saw her right before getting her doctorate officially. I would do well with her whether she got the PhD or not.

Ive seen other Ts on going or for interview before my current T. LPCs, PhDs, and LCSW. Some were amazing, some sucked andshould have been reported to the board. But its hard to make a blanket statement about just titles.

In general of course PhDs have more college courses and research, possible ability to do official paychological evaluations.

LCSWs coming from a school of social work can help in terms of connecting to community resources along with the clinical skills to do therapy. Info pulled from another site:Clinical social work is a broad field that focuses on the mental, social and behavioral health of individuals, couples, families and groups. It includes the diagnosis and treatment of mental health disorders and behavioral disturbances, crisis intervention and prevention of psychosocial dysfunction, such as through patient education or early intervention. It also includes different social work interventions, such as biopsychosocial assessments, advocacy and referral, cognitive and behavioral treatment and mediation. Clinical social workers are employed in a variety of settings, including private practice, mental health clinics, substance abuse facilities, schools, hospitals, universities, primary health care centers, correctional facilities, employee assistance programs and child welfare agencies. Some clinical social workers also engage in academic research. According to the National Association of Social Workers, clinical social workers make up the largest group of behavioral health professionals in the U.S.

LPCs: Professional counseling is a mental health field similar to clinical social work in that it focuses on helping individuals, couples and families with a variety of problems. However, unlike social work, which also includes many different interventions and modes of helping clients, professional counseling focuses solely on counseling. One of the main functions of a professional counselor is to work with the client to help identify goals and potential solutions to problems causing emotional turmoil. Professional counselors also work to improve communication and coping skills, increase self-esteem and promote behavior change and the mental health of their clients, according to the American Counseling Association. They may work in different settings, such as mental health clinics or substance abuse facilities, or in private or group practice.

I think that more study and more training is in itself a good thing, but if the personality of the individual is such that they think that the title makes them more important as people, they are probably less well suited to provide therapy. For me, having a T with a doctorate means a world of difference, because that means I can discuss my job situation with a person who understands. ExT could be rather dismissive of my concerns about work related matters because she didn't get that my job is who I am. Current T gets that.

[brillskep]

Mine has his M.A. and I actually started working with him before he even got his M.A. He's a great therapist and has helped me a lot.
Personally, in my experience, in my country, non-academic professional training in therapy seems to be more effective in creating good therapists than PhD programs. One of my grad school professors (PhD) actually broke confidentiality at one time and did many other ethically unsound things in therapy and teaching. Not that I generalize - my supervisor is a PhD and she's a good professional.
Personally when I'm seeing a T I only care about his/her degrees as personal curiosity, but it's not what I'm looking for. I'd take open-mindedness, professionalism, and willingness to listen and learn over degrees anytime.

[tametc]

Originally Posted by Mastodon

I think that more study and more training is in itself a good thing, but if the personality of the individual is such that they think that the title makes them more important as people, they are probably less well suited to provide therapy.

Agreed. My former T (who earned his PhD in his 50's) was very self-deprecating, and had a great sense of humor, which included the ability to poke fun at himself. I congratulated him on earning his PhD, and he said that the greater the number of degrees, the higher people's expectations, but actually, the fewer the results. So then I told him that I had heard that PhD could mean Piled higher and Deeper. He got a good chuckle out of that.

My current T is a Ph.D, and I more or less like her approach. She's very smart, but she's likeable as well. I'm just going by her voice though, because i don't face her in therapy. I don't find the psychoanalytical approach very effective, it's kinda slow, but she does it well, I think.

My previous T was a social worker, he was also very intelligent. He spoke too much, but he had a way with words and he was able to change my thoughts with his rhetoric.

Psychiatrist is ok. Sometimes I feel he is amused by me.

[WikidPissah]

A PsyD technically has more education and training in therapy.
I really don't care for MSW's or LISW's...they are easy to get along with, but I have found therapy with lesser educated T's goes on forever. They are overworked and underpaid, and need your session to make ends meet. A PsyD is more likely to say "I can't help you but I know who can" before dragging your therapy on for years.

[Perna]

I prefer someone more educated than myself so I can use that to curb some of my brasher tendencies (got into an argument with my psychologist about psychology and THEN realized she was the expert :-) but I look more for what I think of as "wisdom" than education in someone I ask to help me.

[brillskep]

Originally Posted by WikidPissah

A PsyD technically has more education and training in therapy.
I really don't care for MSW's or LISW's...they are easy to get along with, but I have found therapy with lesser educated T's goes on forever. They are overworked and underpaid, and need your session to make ends meet. A PsyD is more likely to say "I can't help you but I know who can" before dragging your therapy on for years.

That's interesting. In my experience, the less educated therapists tend to provide less long-term therapy than those who are better trained. Same about referring people to someone else. Just my experience - it might be due to being in a different system.

[Daeva]

Mine is a LMSW I love her dearly she's nice, professional and caring. Very intelligent

[Lauliza]

In the US there tends to be competition and/or a sense of snobbery among the individual clinicians themselves. The post graduate training for a PsyD and a PhD is intense, so they are highly skilled, and are probably more adept at dealing with the much more complicated diagnoses. They do all the psychological testing and can diagnose complex cases. In fact in major hospitals all neuropsych testing is done by PsyD or PhD students. Social Workers and Licensed Counselors cannot do this stuff. But for much of the therapy we are talking about on these boards, the quality of the therapy will comes down to the clinician as an individual and not the letters after their names.

A PsyD does have 6 years of clinical training after they get their MA in psychology while PhD's do their clinical work in research/academia. While there may be plenty of PhD's who are good T's, its not a result of their training and probably due to interpersonal skills. Same with Psychiatrists, they are medially trained, not trained in therapy technique.

Social Workers and Mental Health counselors are both Masters level programs and have to be licensed to practice and claim insurance. But, there is some snobbery between them and often a difference in approach. In Social Work Master's programs, they are educated in sociology and then can choose a mental health track if they want to do therapy. So as T's they tend to take society as a whole into account and might focus on external in addition to internal factors with clients. For a Master's in Psychology (and license as an LMHC) the coursework is all about psychological theory and counseling technique and approach. So it's possible you might get some LMHC's who do a little more introspection and less examination of social resources available in your treatment, that kind of thing. Neither degree requires any hours for research. After all this though, it seems like in the end, the best therapists are individual and can't be predicted through what the letters are after their name.

[Yogix]

Guys, I'm going for my PsyD. I feel like in a couple years, people are going to say IM bats*** crazy! Haha.

This post has got me thinking! :-P

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[HazelGirl]

Originally Posted by Yogix

Guys, I'm going for my PsyD. I feel like in a couple years, people are going to say IM bats*** crazy! Haha.

This post has got me thinking! :-P

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Just don't be bats*** crazy

[Canyon]

My Psychologist is a great, compassionate person. Even though he has been practicing for 30 years in the field, I get the feeling that he has little life experience in some of the things that I and other clients experience.

He grew up in a close knit ultra-conservative christian background, went to christian college, and has remained in ministry his entire life. He is very compassionate about what I have been through but even he admits that he is still often a little taken aback by things that have happened to some of his clients.

I think what's important to me more than anything is if someone has had a bit of personal experience with some of the horrible things that have gone on in my life. Kind of like how most drug counselors are recovering addicts themselves.

[HazelGirl]

Originally Posted by Canyon

My Psychologist is a great, compassionate person. Even though he has been practicing for 30 years in the field, I get the feeling that he has little life experience in some of the things that I and other clients experience.

He grew up in a close knit ultra-conservative christian background, went to christian college, and has remained in ministry his entire life. He is very compassionate about what I have been through but even he admits that he is still often a little taken aback by things that have happened to some of his clients.

I think what's important to me more than anything is if someone has had a bit of personal experience with some of the horrible things that have gone on in my life. Kind of like how most drug counselors are recovering addicts themselves.

I totally agree with this! My T has been where I'm at now, and came out on the other side. It makes all the difference in the world to know that she really GETS IT. I can open up to her and trust her more because she understands and knows what it's like to see things from my perspective. I don't have to be afraid of her judgment or confusion.