[RubyRae]

I read alot about therapists here,but are we all using the correct term?My "therapist" is actually a psychologist,so should I be referring to him as "my therapist" or "my psychologist"?

Is anyone who conducts therapy considered a therapist?

[unaluna]

Short answer, yes.

from dictionary.com:

therapist:

a person trained in the use of psychological methods for helping patients overcome psychological problems.

[atisketatasket]

Call her whichever you want. There's no right or wrong.

[growlycat]

My therapist has an lpc license so cannot be called a pshucoyherapist or psychologist. However a phd psychologist is a type of therapist

[RubyRae]

Originally Posted by ArtieSwimsOn

from dictionary.com:

therapist:

a person trained in the use of psychological methods for helping patients overcome psychological problems.

Interesting.When I was a teenager I was forced to attend therapy by my high school and my pediatrician provided it.I'm not sure he was even qualified to do so.

[atisketatasket]

I saw/see an LPC and call them therapists.

For legal or advertising purposes it might matter, but not in everyday conversation.

[RubyRae]

Just remembered that there's been times the psychologist has said things like "as your therapist I suggest...." or "I'm your therapist so....".

I guess I could have answered my own question if I had thought of that before posting.

[nyc artist]

My T has a Psy.D. and he refers to himself as my therapist. He doesn't require that I call him Doctor, and he's just not hung up on titles. The word therapist is just universal.

[RubyRae]

Originally Posted by nyc artist

My T has a Psy.D. and he refers to himself as my therapist. He doesn't require that I call him Doctor, and he's just not hung up on titles. The word therapist is just universal.

My T has a PhD and when I talk to him or about him in real life I refer to him as Dr. followed by his last name.That's how he introduced himself to me during our first session and what I've called him since.

How do you address your therapist?By his first name?Do you call him Mr. whatever his last name is?or just hey you?

*I did the hey you a couple of times in the beginning when I was too afraid to speak to him at all*

[healinginprogress]

Originally Posted by RubyRae

My T has a PhD and when I talk to him or about him in real life I refer to him as Dr. followed by his last name.That's how he introduced himself to me during our first session and what I've called him since.

How do you address your therapist?By his first name?Do you call him Mr. whatever his last name is?or just hey you?

*I did the hey you a couple of times in the beginning when I was too afraid to speak to him at all*

My T has a PhD, but I call her by her first name. It would be too clinical for me to refer to her as Dr. LastName and I don't think I would be able to let my guard down to actually get anything out of therapy.

[RubyRae]

Originally Posted by healinginprogress

My T has a PhD, but I call her by her first name. It would be too clinical for me to refer to her as Dr. LastName and I don't think I would be able to let my guard down to actually get anything out of therapy.

I'm the opposite,I don't think I could let my guard down if it was so casual that we were on a first name basis,I wouldn't feel comfortable at all.I guess that clinical feel is what I need,with a structured environment and an authority figure.

[healinginprogress]

Originally Posted by RubyRae

I'm the opposite,I don't think I could let my guard down if it was so casual that we were on a first name basis,I wouldn't feel comfortable at all.I guess that clinical feel is what I need,with a structured environment and an authority figure.

I have a friend who sees my T (I referred her), and she calls her Dr. LastName for the same reasons you do. Whatever helps us heal, right?

[SummerTime12]

I think the distinction is that anyone can call themselves a therapist and provide "therapy" - they don't actually need any special license or training to call themselves a therapist. To call yourself a LCSW, LPC, psychologist, psychiatrist, etc., you need to have a license. That's why it's important to look for one of those types of titles in addition to "therapist" when searching for a T!

[NP_Complete]

Mine is a PsyD. I usually only address him in emails and I wasn't sure how to address him at first so I used Dr. X, but that felt all wrong. Now I just use his first name. It feels right after a year.

The difference between a psychologist and a therapist is the specification.
Every therapist is a psychologist (most probably), but not every psychologist is a therapist (surely). And even if he's a therapist, he can be a CBT, Positive Psychology Therapist, Schema Therapist...

[Myrto]

My therapist is a psychoanalyst, psychotherapist and psychologist. She holds the three titles but only the psychologist one recquires a license (ie a university diploma). Anyone without any training can call themselves a psychotherapist in Belgium which is a huge problem because lots of charlatans do and the clients are not protected.
A year ago, the governement decided to pass a law that would regulate the profession and that would recquire a formal training (and not, say, an online course). Well what happened? All the psychotherapists were outraged by that law that sought to protect clients and they violently opposed it. Consequently anyone can still call themselves a psychotherapist today.
Clients are not protected against gurus and quacks.
I realize this is all very Belgium-centric but I believe it's the same situation in France. Don't know about the rest of Europe.

[lucozader]

That's terrible, Myrto.

The situation is similar in the UK in that legally anyone is able to call themselves a psychotherapist. The general attitude in the profession is massively against people without proper training doing so, though, and the vast majority of therapists have qualifications which are recognised by the BACP (the main national regulating body) and are members of that organisation.

It's still not ideal. I very much believe it should be governed by law.

[nyc artist]

Originally Posted by RubyRae

My T has a PhD and when I talk to him or about him in real life I refer to him as Dr. followed by his last name.That's how he introduced himself to me during our first session and what I've called him since.

How do you address your therapist?By his first name?Do you call him Mr. whatever his last name is?or just hey you?

*I did the hey you a couple of times in the beginning when I was too afraid to speak to him at all*

I address him by his first name. He has told me that one patient calls him just by his last name and another calls him "buddy." It makes him laugh. He has never referred to himself as Dr. H. He's honestly not hung up on titles. I have 2 Ph.D. degrees and I don't go by Dr. either.

I totally did the hey you with my first T. I was just uncomfortable with her though. 😕

[nyc artist]

Originally Posted by Vibrating Obsidian

The difference between a psychologist and a therapist is the specification.
Every therapist is a psychologist (most probably), but not every psychologist is a therapist (surely). And even if he's a therapist, he can be a CBT, Positive Psychology Therapist, Schema Therapist...

I think that's backward. At least in the US. There are tons of therapists that are not psychologists as it requires a graduate degree. And all psychologists are therapists because that's why they got the license in the first place. There are different degrees for being a psychotherapist though such as an MA, LCSW, LPC, etc.

[StickyTwig]

I do like the word "therapist". The title alone sounds rather soothing I think.

In the UK we mostly seem to call them counsellors though, with "psychotherapy" indicating a more advanced degree. I'm not 100% sure of that though as I'm not in the profession or anything.

[lucozader]

Originally Posted by StickyTwig

I do like the word "therapist". The title alone sounds rather soothing I think.

In the UK we mostly seem to call them counsellors though, with "psychotherapy" indicating a more advanced degree. I'm not 100% sure of that though as I'm not in the profession or anything.

Generally 'counselling' is used to refer to more short-term, person-centred therapy, whilst 'psychotherapy' refers to more long-term, in-depth therapy in a range of modalities. 'Psychotherapy' is actually just a broad term for talk therapy, so I suppose technically counselling is a type of psychotherapy.

People can call themselves whatever they want, though, regardless of qualifications. I wouldn't see it as an indication of their level of training.