Abstract
In this research paper, it talks about the different characteristics and importance of 5 different therapists. The 5 of them are psychotherapists, clinical psychologist, psychoanalyst, psychiatrist, and licensed clinical social worker. These 5 therapists are very much in common but each of them has their own specialty which will be shown further on this research paper. The objective of this study is to investigate and learn about the different types of therapists based on their respective career pathways, and what sort of patients that they deal with. All of them have a certain background of studies which involve psychology and dealing with people and their lives. After the end of this research paper, I hope to accomplish all the necessary parts and to fulfill the objective.
There will be a review of literature where the data is found and collected. Each therapist-related job will be explained and sorted out. After that, a conclusion will be made, followed by recommendations. Finally, the reference will be stated in the end to show all related articles that help accomplish this research paper.
Psychotherapists
Psychotherapy can be seen as an interpersonal invitation offered by psychotherapists to aid clients in reaching their full potential or to cope better with problems of life. Psychotherapists usually receive remuneration in some form in return for their time and skills. This is one way in which the relationship can be distinguished from an altruistic offer of assistance.
Psychotherapists and counselors are often required to create a therapeutic environment, which is characterized by a nice and proper climate which enables clients to open up and to feel free to talk about their problems. The degrees to which client feels related to the therapist may well depend on the techniques and approaches used by the therapist or counselor.
Psychotherapy often includes methods to increase awareness on their problems and the capacity to observe one’s self, change in behavior and thinking, and develop insight and empathy. A desired result enable other choices of thought, feeling or action; to increase the sense of well-being and to better manage subjective discomfort or distress. Perception of reality is hopefully improved after the therapy session.
Grieving might be enhanced by producing less long term depression. Psychotherapy can improve medication response where such medication is also needed. Psychotherapy is usually done on a one-to-one basis, in a group therapy, which consists of couples or an entire family. It can be individually like face-to-face, over the telephone, or, much less commonly, the Internet.
Its duration of a complete therapy may be a matter of weeks or many years. Therapy may address specific forms of diagnosable mental illness, or everyday problems such as managing or maintaining relationships or meeting personal goals. Treatment in families with children can favorably influence a child’s development, lasting for life and into future generations. A good example of being a parent can be an indirect result of therapy or purposefully learned as parenting methods. Divorces among couples can be prevented, or made far less into becoming a tragic.
Treatment of daily problems is more often referred to as counseling but the term is sometimes used interchangeably with “psychotherapy”. Therapeutic skills have a great impact on mental health consultation to business and public agencies to improve and assist with coworkers or clients for the
betterment.
Psychotherapists use a range of methods to stimulate or persuade the client to adapt or change in the direction that the client has chosen. These can be based on clear thinking about their decisions. Each is designed to expand the mental health of a client or patient, or to improve group relationships, such as in a family. Main forms of psychotherapy are done by spoken conversation, though some also use other forms of communication such as the written word, artwork, drama, narrative story, or therapeutic touch.
Psychotherapy occurs within a structured encounter between a trained therapist and client(s). Because profound and sensitive topics are often discussed during psychotherapy, therapists are expected, and usually legally bound, to respect client or patient confidentiality. Therefore, the trust between the therapist and clients has to be strong. Psychotherapists are often trained, certified, and licensed, with a range of different accreditations and licensing requirements depending on the authority. [1]
Clinical Psychologist
Clinical psychology is an integration of science, theory and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and personal development. Central to its practice are psychological assessment and psychotherapy, although clinical psychologists also engage in research, teaching, consultation, forensic testimony, and program development and administration. In many countries, clinical psychology is a regulated mental health profession.
Clinical psychologists often work in medical settings, private practice or in academic positions at universities and colleges. Some clinical psychologists work directly with clients, often those who suffer from severe psychiatric disorders. Some of the job roles performed by those working in clinical psychology include:
a.Assessment and diagnosis of psychological disorders
b.Treatment of psychological disorders
c.Offering testimony in legal settings
d.Teaching
e.Conducting research
f.Drug and alcohol treatment
g.Creating and administering program to treat and prevent social problems
Approaches to Clinical Psychology:
Clinical psychologists who work as psychotherapists often apply different treatment approaches when working with clients. While some clinicians focus on a very specific treatment attitude, many use what is referred to as an extensive approach. This involves drawing on different theoretical methods to make up the best treatment plan for each individual client.
Some of the major theoretical perspectives within clinical psychology include:
Psychodynamic Approach:
This perspective grew out of the work of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, who believed that the unconscious mind played an important role in our behavior. Psychologists who utilize this perspective may use practices such as free association to inspect a client’s underlying, unconscious incentives.
Cognitive Behavioral Perspective:
This approach to clinical psychology developed from the behavioral and cognitive schools of thought. Clinical psychologists using this perspective will look at how a client’s feelings, behaviors and thoughts cooperate. Cognitive-behavioral therapy often focuses on changing thoughts and behaviors that give to psychological distress.
Humanistic Perspective:
This approach grew out of the work of humanist thinkers such as Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers. This perspective looks at the client more holistically and is fixated on such things as self-actualization and helping
people understand their full potential.
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Psychotherapy involves a formal relationship between professional and client—usually an individual, couple, family, or small group—that uses a set of procedures intended to form a therapeutic association, explore the nature of psychological problems, and encourage new ways of thinking, feeling, or behaving.
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Psychoanalyst
A good psychoanalyst always listens very carefully to what his patients say, paying specific attention to their dreams and what happened in their early childhood. They also encourage patients to identify their emotional states and understand the subconscious factors that drive their behavior. A psychoanalyst’s work is strictly confidential; they cannot share the information they receive during psychoanalytical sessions with other people. Psychoanalysts are typically self-employed, and so the amount of hours they work depends on how many clients they have. Psychoanalysts can treat anxiety, phobia, depression and obsessive behavior.
In order to become a qualified psychoanalyst, a candidate must study for four years at an institute accredited by the American Psychoanalytic Association. To enter the program, the individual must be a physician who successfully completed a four-year residency program in psychiatry. Alternatively, the candidate can be a psychologist or social worker who completed a doctoral program in his field. In addition, outstandingly qualified researchers, scholars, educators and other professionals may be admitted to the program. During the training program, the candidate attends classes in psychoanalytic technique and theory, undergoes a personal analysis and conducts psychoanalysis under the supervision of experienced analysts.
Psychoanalysis designates alongside three things:
1. A method of mind investigation, especially of the unconscious mind 2. A therapy of neurosis inspired from the above method 3. A new impartial discipline who is based on the knowledge acquired from applying the investigation method and clinical experiences
In other words, Psychoanalysts follow Freud’s theories that painful childhood memories contained in the subconscious are the cause of mental illness. Psychoanalysts are like psychologists in that they usually deal with emotional matters and do not recommend medication. However, their approach is different from that of conventional psychologists.
Psychoanalysis is a technique of searching through a person’s subconscious memories for the source of their current difficulties, rather than focusing on conscious memories. Psychoanalysts also tend to meet much more often with their clients. Rather than meeting only once a week (as is common with psychologists), they usually prefer to meet as frequently as three to five times a week.
[5]
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the analysis and management of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychopharmacological treatment. As part of their evaluation of the patient, among the mental health professionals only psychiatrists and advanced practice registered nurses are authorized to prescribe psychiatric medication, conduct physical examinations, order, interpret laboratory tests, and electroencephalograms, and may order brain imaging studies such as computed tomography or computed axial tomography (CT/CAT Scan), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and positron emission tomography scanning. [6]
Various subspecialties and/or theoretical approaches exist which are related to the field of psychiatry. They include the following:
Addiction psychiatry:
Focuses on evaluation and treatment of individuals with alcohol, drug, or other substance-related disorders, and of individuals with dual diagnosis of substance-related and other psychiatric disorders.
Biological psychiatry:
An approach to psychiatry that with objectives like to distinguish mental disorders in terms of the biological purpose of the nervous system.
Child and adolescent psychiatry:
The branch of psychiatry that concentrates in work with children, teenagers, and their families.
Community psychiatry:
An approach that reflects an inclusive public health perspective and is practiced in community mental health services.
Cross-cultural psychiatry:
A branch of psychiatry that works with the cultural and ethnic context of mental disorders and psychiatric services.
Emergency psychiatry:
The clinical application of psychiatry in emergency surroundings.
Forensic psychiatry:
The interface between law and psychiatry.
Geriatric psychiatry:
A branch of psychiatry dealing with the study, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders in humans with old age.
Military psychiatry:
Covers special aspects of psychiatry and mental disorders within the military
context.
Neuropsychiatry:
A branch of medicine that deals with mental disorders that relate to diseases of the nervous system.
Social psychiatry:
A branch of psychiatry that focuses on the interpersonal and cultural background of mental disorder and mental interests.
In short, a psychiatrist is a physician who deals with mentally ill patients. Psychiatrists are MDs, so they can prescribe medication. As a result, they usually deal with clinical issues such as schizophrenia and manic-depression whose treatments tend to require medication.
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Licensed Social Worker
This is the least popular among the 5 because it’s a profession which is the least favorite among the rest. Basically, a social work is a professional and academic discipline that seeks to develop the quality of life and wellbeing of an individual, group, or community by overruling through research, policy, community organizing, direct practice, and teaching on behalf of those afflicted with poverty or any real or perceived social injustices and abuses of their human rights. Research is often focused on areas such as human development, social policy, public administration, psychotherapy, program evaluation, and international and communal development. Social workers are organized into local, national, continental and international professional bodies. Social work, an interdisciplinary field, includes concepts from economics, education, sociology, medicine, philosophy, politics, anthropology and psychology. In many jurisdictions, clinical social workers are licensed mental health professionals.
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Review of Literature
Most of the articles are found from the internet and not resources like from books or magazines. The website mainly used is Wikipedia because other websites do not provide enough detail. Some of them also do not show relevant details about the certain therapist that was needed. The findings were good and up to date, therefore were used on this research paper.
Comparisons
What is the difference between a Clinical Psychologist and a Psychiatrist?
The primary differences are in the training and focus each type of professional.
A psychologist receives six or more years of training beyond a bachelor’s degree. This training focuses on the psychological causes of human thoughts, feelings, and behavior, how to conduct psychotherapy, and how to help people who are dealing with psychological problems. Psychologists are licensed by the state, and they do not prescribe medications. Only people with the requisite training and licensure have the legal right to call themselves psychologists.
A psychiatrist, in contrast, is a medical doctor with a specialization in the medical and physiological underpinnings of human behavior. Because of this, a psychiatrist is qualified to prescribe medications. Psychiatrists are also licensed by the state.
A social worker is someone who has a master’s degree in social work (MSW), which typically takes three years of training beyond a bachelor’s degree. Social workers often, but always, look at the patient’s problems in the greater context of the social entities around him or her. Social workers are also licensed by the state.
Psychology is an academic and applied field involving the study of the human mind, brain, and behavior. The word ‘psychiatry’ derives from the Greek for “healer of the spirit”. Both are independent of each other. Depending on which one you need, you may be referred to one or the other.
Psychiatrists are medically trained Doctors who have chosen to specialize in treating mental disorders. The only ones qualified to prescribe medication. Some psychiatrists have undergone extra training in therapy and offer similar things to psychologists or psychotherapists.
Psychologists are people who have obtained a psychology degree are entitled to call themselves as Psychologist. However, there are many different kinds of Psychologist, and the people who are qualified to offer therapy are usually called Clinical Psychologists or Counseling Psychologists. These people undergo an extra 3 year training which usually qualifies them up to a Doctorate level. This can be a little confusing as they are Doctors of Psychology, not medicine. They are usually trained in a variety of different therapies and are in a good position to assess you for the type of therapy you might need, and often are able to provide it.
Recommendations
Throughout this research paper, there were several recommendations that could be done to further improve the results of the research. These recommendations are hope to encourage others to work on a better research paper.
One of them is that it is recommended to not work on this research alone, but in a group of three to four. By this way, the research’s workload will be evenly distributed and each individual will have less to worry about. Besides that, a group work will be able to have a wider range of findings and opinions.
Another recommendation is that related articles should be gathered from different resources such as books and magazines from the library. Researchers should not only depend on one resource as the details may be insufficient to work on. Different variety of resources ensures that more details and related articles can be added into the research. This will make the research more interesting and wider range of details.
Conclusion
As a conclusion, this research paper has been a great one to work on as it has given extra knowledge about the 5 different therapists that has been reviewed. Basically, the 5 therapists have one thing in common, which is, the job has to be done with a client and usually they will provide counseling or therapy to the person or group. Nevertheless, they are 5 totally different professions and have different views of psychology.
References
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychotherapy
[2] http://psychology.about.com/od/clinicalpsychology/f/clinical-psychology.htm
[3] Plante, Thomas (2005). Contemporary Clinical Psychology. New York, NY: Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-47276-X.
[4] Gabbard, Glen. (2005). Psychodynamic Psychiatry in Clinical Practice, 4th Ed. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press. ISBN 1-58562-185-4
[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychoanalysis
[6] Leigh, H. (1983). Psychiatry in the practice of medicine. Menlo Park: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-201-05456-9, (p. 15)
[7] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychiatry
[8] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_work
