Clients vs. Patients

I was just wondering why the term clients is the preferred term rather than patients. I saw in another post that someone said using patients was a slip by a T. I know my T always refers to clients. Is this just a preference or is there something to it?

My t calls us clients.........always. It's kinda a nice way to say we are somewhat equal in the quest to a healthier path.

My T calls me a client but I call myself a patient of my pdoc.

Jbug

I prefer to be a patient. I am paying (or someone is paying on behalf of me) for a medical person to provide me a service for improving or maintaining my health. I am a patient regardless of whether that person is helping me with bipolar or joint pain.

I always think that a psychiatrist (who is a medical doctor) has patients but a therapist has clients. My therapist is of the humanistic school, which emphasizes thinking about mental health in terms of what is normal and healthy rather than what is abnormal and pathological. I think the term patient calls to mind a person with medical problems, and this is not how a humanistic therapist sees people.

Everything that i've ever read (as well as what i plan to follow when i become a psychologist) is that client is more of a respectful term. "patient" for some people can be a dergotatory term, while for others it isn't. It just kind of depends on the people, but by using the term "client" many psychologists/psychiatrists are safe from evoking offense from anyone.

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sunrise said:
I always think that a psychiatrist (who is a medical doctor) has patients but a therapist has clients. My therapist is of the humanistic school, which emphasizes thinking about mental health in terms of what is normal and healthy rather than what is abnormal and pathological. I think the term patient calls to mind a person with medical problems, and this is not how a humanistic therapist sees people.

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I agree with sunrise. Client is a more pro-active term while patient lends to the idea of dependance and lack of involvement in my mind. I recently came across a new word though - analysand for someone in psychoanalysis. That sounds kinda fun. Thought maybe there could be a another word created called therisand for those in therapy. What do you think?

I don't know why but I was under the impression that if the T is a doctor (of PsyD or whatever) then we are 'patients' but if not, then we are 'clients'.

I don't know which I prefer. I think 'client' sounds like I have a hair or nail appointment. Patient sounds like a more serious relationship.

I don't think T has called me anything. Not even by name LOL! I use to see myself as a patient but I don;t now I see myself as a client.

I can see how the word "patient" might make some feel bad because we are talking about one's emotional state and not a broken arm.

I try to remember mine is a PhD and is a "doctor" so he can call me patient, client, friend whatever he wants...

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almeda24fan said:
I try to remember mine is a PhD and is a "doctor" so he can call me patient, client, friend whatever he wants...

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Many people have PhDs (e.g. moi!) but I don't think that really means they would use the term patient. A PhD is an academic degree not a medical degree. I don't consider a PhD psychologist any different in terms of what he should call clients than an MS mental health counselor. I think an MD or dentist has patients. Even my physical therapist calls the people she sees clients. Maybe it's just me, but if I were seeing a PhD psychologist and he called me a patient, I might ask him to call me "Dr. MyLastName."

I have a question. Does anyone here have a PhD level psychologist as your therapist? And if so, what does he/she refer to you as, a client or a patient? almedafan?

Sunrise,

My T is a PsyD. People always call him either Dr. Firstname or Dr. Lastname. He refers to those that he sees as clients - never as patients. I always thought of myself as his patient. But he always refers to clients. Then when I was reading another post and someone commented that their T slipped and refered to patients rather than clients. So I was just wondering.

Thanks, purplemoon. I kind of thought a non-MD would use the term client but was really interested to know. Sounds like your guy follows the "client" convention.

I think the term patient makes me think of someone being powerless and lying in a bed and having things given to them. Being "Looked after" I see therapy as something we have to work ourselfs as well for it to work. I can't just lie there and let t give me pills, I have to be actively involved. So I guess client for me anyways is a more realistic title.

But I sure wish I could go to sleep in T and wake up and have had all my internalised nasty monsters taken out LOL, and have had a frontal lobotomy where I no longer drive myself insane with irrational thoughts LOL..

LOL I got this image of the deaf one in the marx brothers wearing a white coat and a big siver thingy on his forehead leaniing over me LOL!!

Hi, my pdoc (obviously has his MD) he is Dr. _____
Dunno what he calls me....
My T is a PsyD and she is called by her first name _____
She calls ppl clients but I don't really care either way, it doesn't hurt my feelings etc if she said "patients".
Hmmm, I'm gonna aske her some things about this now guys.......also about the ppl if they have same degree status (Dr. Sunrise....hee hee). I am on a Masters and do not foresee a Phd! wow....cool sunny.

I don't think it matters so much if the therapist/helper is a "Dr." of any kind; it's more about whether they follow a medical model of treatment or not. A "nurse" is going to call me a patient but a social worker is probably going to call me a client, unless the social worker is also a psychoanalyst of the "couch"/Freudian school in which case I might be a patient. It's their conventions/mindset; may or may not align with titles or degrees.

I don't care what anyone calls me as long as it isn't late to dinner ;-)

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Talulah said:
Hmmm, I'm gonna aske her some things about this now guys.......also about the ppl if they have same degree status (Dr. Sunrise....hee hee).

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lol, well I was just kind of joking about. I kind of meant heck if they are going to "pull rank" and start calling me a patient when they only have an academic degree, well shoot, then they can call me by my appropriate title too. Truthfully, I almost never use my title of "Dr." I tend to use "Ms." except in formal, academic situations, such as when presenting at a conference, etc. And so far, in our unscientific poll here, we haven't seen any PhD or PsyD psychologists who don't use "client." I find discussions like this about the "culture" of different disciplines very interesting!

Hey Sunrise, yes my therapist is a PhD clinical psychologist. He does say patient no matter who he is referring to me or someone else he sees.

Maybe he does that because he sees a lot of patients with chronic pain and other medical conditions? I use the word patient with him too so maybe that is it...

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Interesting thread. I think the really critical issue here is not, "How does the doctor/therapist/counselor refer to the individuals they are attempting to help?" but rather, "How do we refer to ourselves?"

For example, Merlin noted that she prefers to be "a patient". She has her own reasons for why she feels the way she does and they're important to her. If she should find herself in a relationship with a professional who refers to her as a "client" it's probably going to have an impact on her relationship with them. Others prefer that they be referred to as "clients". They too have good reasons for feeling as they do.

Any successful relationship is based on compatability. It's a bit like this... some people want to live in the country and some people want to live in the city. If two country folks, or two city folks meet up... it can produce a compatible relationship. But if a country folk gets matched to a city folk...? it can lead to some conflict and disatisfaction -- they're not compatible.

I know myself well enough to know that I would not find satisfaction in a therapeutic relationship if I was referred to as "a patient." Calling me a patient makes me feel like I'm sick. I don't want to be sick, I want to be well and if I'm going to shell out some of my hard-earned dollars, I want a bit of "rah-rah" from the sidelines. I assure you, that would be enough to send some "professionals" screaming from the room -- they don't do "rah-rah", they do "something else". We would have to get a divorce, so fast. We're not compatible.

Overall, the "labels" probably don't matter near as much as "the fit". I think that's where the focus really belongs.

I agree the fit is most important. One way I differentiated is before I was a psychologist, they were clients, afterwards once I became a doctor, they became patients. If I had to refer to someone anonymously for some reason, who was also a friend that received "advice" from me from time to time, then they also were referred to as "client."

However, if someone wanted to discuss this and didn't like either term, then of course it's only proper to not use it.

BTW I do see a PhD Clinical Psychologist, and I am his patient.
TC

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Sky: I agree the fit is most important.

I have not-so-seriously toyed with the idea of starting an online matching service for individuals who are seeking professional assistance. Unfortunately, most people seek out a therapist when they're in a state of crisis and although they may "sound out" that therapist through various means (e.g., personal and professional recommendations), it really comes down to a process that's remarkably similar to a form of blind but very expensive dating.

I don't know about you or others but where I live, 50 minutes with a psychologist, psychiatrist or equivalant is going to run anywhere from $150 - $200 an hour. That's a fee that typically must be paid up front -- either out of pocket or deducted from a limited fund allotted by an insurance carrier. For a number of people, that renders "professional" therapy an impossibility.

There are ways around that, of course. I've noted before that I haven't had any formal therapy but I've certainly read the works and perspectives of some of the most brilliant and insightful minds within the fields of psychology, psychiatry and philosophy. Self-help groups can also be beneficial for those who have no other form of therapeutic outlet -- the internet can be a real boon in this regard.

Truthfully, the best form of therapy can be found amidst those one feels loved by, safe with, and accepted by -- a true friend is of more worth than 100 hired professionals. I doubt that I could have possibly found a better therapist than the one that "fell into my head". For those who don't have that option, there is the yellow pages.

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WinterRose said:
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sunrise said:
I always think that a psychiatrist (who is a medical doctor) has patients but a therapist has clients. My therapist is of the humanistic school, which emphasizes thinking about mental health in terms of what is normal and healthy rather than what is abnormal and pathological. I think the term patient calls to mind a person with medical problems, and this is not how a humanistic therapist sees people.

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I agree with sunrise. Client is a more pro-active term while patient lends to the idea of dependance and lack of involvement in my mind. I recently came across a new word though - analysand for someone in psychoanalysis. That sounds kinda fun. Thought maybe there could be a another word created called therisand for those in therapy. What do you think?

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Wow, I am in analysis, but I have never heard of analysand. Never heard of it in my schooling, either. I work in the mental health, and everyone at my agency calls the clients "consumers." I HATE that. A consumer is someone who buys a car, a bag of chips. You can't consume mental health!! I go for clients, both for myself, and for the individuals that I serve. I feel the same way for my pdoc-- I guess working in the field makes me feel that way. I work with a pdoc at my agency, and I don't see my clients as his "patients." Interesting to see it from all different sides.

Pinksoil, my mother is a psychologist at group homes for MRDD populations run by the state. Everyone there is supposed to refer to the people as consumers too, which she hates as well.

Becca

Linehan has a discussion about the patient / client terminology in her book. I think she chooses to go with client in the book and patient in the skills training manual (though i could be wrong about that).

She said that there are positive and negative aspects to each choice. I probably can't remember all of them, but I'll have a bit of a go:

- Patient conveys something along the lines of someone who is patiently coping. It conveys the virtue of patience. It also does seem to conjure up images of helplessness and passivity, however. It also seems to convey the notion that the clinician is this paternalistic and rescuing figure.

- Client conveys something along the lines of an active consumer who has full mental faculties and hence is able to take an active and informed role in their care especially with regards to which clinicians they choose to contract to work with and which interventions they consent to. It also does seem to convey the notion that the mental health service is a service akin to others like hairdressing and gardening and housecleaning and the like, however. It also conjures up images of negotiating with insurance companies and the like.

Interesting discussion!

A clinical psychologist who is a doctor sees 'patients'

Not all psychologists are doctors so they may see clients.

Adding to this, I'm many things- Mother, wife, worker, writer, psychotherapist and a patient.................

When I see my clin psy he always calls me by my first name and I always call him by his first name. ie we are two human beings who converse on a regular basis.