What is the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist?
Most people aren’t confident with the difference between a psychiatrist and a psychologist, or a counsellor and a psychotherapist, so we’ve written a simple guide.
Speaking simply, there are four types of trained mental health professionals in the UK: psychiatrists, psychologists, psychotherapists, and counsellors.
Counselling
Typical Training: Diploma
Price Range: £30-60 per session
Counsellors are trained to diploma level and focus on a particular couselling theory, and use that when talking to their clients about their issue. Counsellors tend to work on shorter term issues.
Psychotherapy
Typical Training: Post-graduate degree
Price Range: £60-90 per session
Psychotherapy required a post-graduate qualification and, like counselling, relies on a theory of how mental issues arise and can be treated, and tends to focus on longer term issues.
Psychology
Typical Training: Doctorate
Price Range: £90-120 per session
Psychology is the scientific study of mental disorder, and is carried out by clinical psychologists who normally hold a doctorate, and their work covers the full spectrum of issues from serious to mild.
Psychiatry
Typical Training: Doctorate
Price Range: £120-240 per session
Psychiatrists are medical doctors with extra psychology training, and are the only people who can prescribe drugs to alleviate symptoms.
Which type of therapy should I choose?
For many issues, the choice of therapy type often depends on availability, price and other personal factors. But for some conditions it can be more important to know the training and specialisation of the different types of practitioners.
We have prepared a table of some common issues, and which types of therapy may be more suitable, here.
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