By Leslie Carr Psy.D. on March 10, 2011
Hello Crazy, Sexy Lovebugs! If you’re just tuning in now, this is the third article of a four-part series on how to find a good therapist. In posts one and two I addressed the stigmas that keep people from seeking out therapy, and the different kinds of psychotherapy that exist. Several people have requested that I write about the difference between psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and the like, so in this installment I’m going to do just that. Before I do, however, there are two things that I want you to keep in mind:
1) A good amount of what I’m about to describe boils down to things like how much time a clinician spends in school. However, whether someone is a good therapist has a lot to do with who they are as a person, and whether that person is the right therapist for you has to do with how well you two work together. So as I describe the differences between degrees, please understand that this is not all as hierarchical as it might sound.
2) This information is not meant to influence what kind of therapist you should seek out, but to help you to understand the referral(s) you’ve gotten. In the next post, I’ll be covering how to get a good referral in more detail. This post is simply meant to give you a little extra insight into what the letters mean that come after someone’s name.
Dig? OK, let’s go.
When it comes to clinical psychologists, there are two different kinds of degrees that one can have: a doctorate in psychology (Psy.D.) or a doctorate of philosophy in the field of psychology (Ph.D.). The difference between the two is that the dissertation requirements for a Ph.D. are more quantitative in nature, but both degrees require a considerable amount of training in how to “do” therapy, and they’re otherwise very similar. You shouldn’t experience any difference as a client.
The main difference between psychologists and psychiatrists is that psychiatrists are medical doctors (M.D.s). As a result they focus mostly on biological treatments and are able to prescribe medication. How much training a psychiatrist receives in conducting therapy varies depending on which program they attend, and there are some psychiatrists who practice as therapists. In my professional experience, however, I’ve known few psychiatrists who focus on therapy; most of the psychiatrists that I have worked with have focused on prescribing medication. In some states, psychologists can prescribe medication if they get additional training, but those instances are rare.
Clinical social workers are trained as therapists. On average, the formal part of their training (the time that they spend in school) is shorter than it is for psychologists by a little more than half. As a result, they learn less about specific things like theory, psychological testing or assessments, the brain and biology, and psychopharmacology. However, by the time clinical social workers get licensed they have a lot of experience in the art of therapy. With regard to initials, licensed clinical social workers have the letters L.C.S.W. after their names.
Finally, in some states there’s also something called a marriage and family therapy degree (M.F.T.). Marriage and family therapists spend about the same amount of time in school as social workers and take a comparable amount of time to get licensed (usually several years, depending on state requirements). The coursework and training for this degree focuses on couples and families, but they are not restricted from working with individual adults, and many of them do.
So, what does all of this mean for you? I would say that the primary distinction between these degrees has to do with whether someone has a medical degree or not. If you’re specifically looking for medication, then you need to seek out someone who is a licensed prescriber, and in the vast majority of instances that person is going to be a medical doctor (M.D.).
If you’re not sure whether you need medication, you may want to seek out a therapist and discuss your concerns with him or her. From there, that therapist can refer you to a psychiatrist, depending on what you decide. It’s often best when medication is involved to pursue those two things (medication and therapy) at the same time, because many studies have shown that being in therapy increases the effectiveness of medication by quite a bit. So even if you feel like medication is right for you, I would always recommend therapy as well.
In my next and final post on this subject, I’ll be talking about how to get good referrals and how to use first sessions as an interview of sorts. By the last article, you’ll have the information you need to find the therapist that’s right for you.
Photo credit: mjmyap
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By Guest Blogger on June 22, 2009
Laura Benko, Feng Shui Consultant
In 2001 I came down with a bad upper respiratory cold and upon a routine doctor visit, my blood work indicated something more serious was going on. After quickly being diagnosed with a rather grave prognosis, my head was in a WTF spin when 24 hours later my primary care physician was suggesting an “inevitable” bone marrow transplant. Three other opinions and extensive tests all later confirmed a different type of bone marrow cancer with a more hopeful outcome and an indolent, slow moving trajectory: Polycythemia. My next step was leaving my job at a company that represented film directors to think about my health and focus on a plan.
Days later, while in a bookstore, a book about Feng Shui and health fell on my head. Yes, it literally fell on my head. A ray of sunlight beamed upon it too, but each time I have relayed this story I have left that part out because it really sounds so incredibly hokey – but it’s true. I always had an interest in this topic, so I bought the book, made some changes in my home and immediately felt a difference. When I heard that the author was giving a lecture in New York, I ran to attend and left feeling so impressed by the depth and interconnectedness of this ancient art of placement. I called up the author’s office and asked if I could work for her in exchange for going through her training program. As luck would have it, she happened to need someone that week. I ended up helping run her business, graduating from her training program, studying with other Feng Shui masters and then eventually leaving to start my own Feng Shui consulting business.
Early in my wellness journey I began to shed some of the suggested, traditional plans of attack and found solace in alternative therapies that just made sense to me. While zoning out in acupuncture, I realized that Feng Shui works in the same way. Energetic pathways run throughout our bodies in the same way they run throughout our homes. Whether blockages are emotional (feeling jammed up, stuck, can’t move on) or physical (high blood pressure, stroke, tumors, cysts, sluggish organs, artery plaque) clearing the clutter in your environment and letting go of things that no longer serve you can have an enormous impact in allowing the fresh pathways of chi (or energy, or life force) to flow.
Need to speed up or slow down the flow of energy in your body? Look into the colors that you’re surrounding yourself with. Red is a stimulating color and considered auspicious in Feng Shui but an abundance of it is not recommended for proliferating cancers or those prone to stress and anxiety disorders. Do you have challenges with certain organs? Tap into the energetic properties of particular elements. The water element connects to the kidneys, the wood element to the liver, the fire element to the heart, the earth element to the spleen and the metal element to the lungs. Each element can be represented in your home in literal and symbolic ways and when there is a great imbalance of one or all elements in your surroundings, chances are you will experience imbalance too – especially if there is a pre-existing condition or a propensity for a particular organ weakness.
One important thing to remember is that each individual has different needs and what might be considered a balance for one home might not be the necessary balance for another. That is why before I start a consultation, I need two things from the client: a hand drawn floor plan and 1-2 written pages about what is currently going on in their life. When I enter a home, I first sit down with the individual or couple or family and discuss those specific challenges in detail before I walk through the home and make recommendations.
Even though a great amount of Feng Shui information is based upon thousands of years of ancient Chinese information, it’s also blended with modern psychology, urban planning, interior design and science. My favorite layer in this ball of wax, under the psychology category is symbolism. Symbolism often clearly illustrates how the emotional underpinnings of our issues come to the surface in our surroundings. I see it in nearly every single consultation I do. Sometimes it’s a subconscious manifestation, like, the frazzled client who “couldn’t get a handle on things” and yet there were literally no handles on any of her cupboards or drawers. That constant, day-to-day grappling without knobs in her home eventually took its toll and exacerbated the struggle that pervaded every area of her life. Another example is the blended family that was trying to create unity among their children yet had “his children” on one side of the dinner table and “her children” on the other side, with divides in their sleeping areas as well.
Couples struggling with marital discord who have pushed one side of their bed up against the wall will create a feeling of one person being trapped and unheard. An imbalance of “his” furniture or collectibles vs. “hers” is sure to cause an imbalance in other dynamics as well. And to all the people who can’t sleep at night, for goodness sake, get the treadmills, piles of work and pictures of crashing waves out of your bedroom. Once these associations are brought to light, a new intention is set in place and these no-cost recommendations are made, you are shifting the energies in your environment and therefore, in yourself. It’s by looking deep beneath the surface that we really start to see the connections between our external and internal lives, which then allows the best in both to unfold.
Laura Benko is the Feng Shui Correspondent and Home Expert for the television show Live It Up! on WLNY every Friday morning. She lectures around the country and writes for various home and design magazines.
For more information: www.BenkoFengShui.com
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