If you want to seek couples counselling, what types of therapy professionals should you go see? If you want to get help for depression or anxiety, who should you visit? What type of therapist is the best fit for talking about job stress, addictions, bipolar disorder or PTSD? Whose professional assistance should you seek?
The difficulty lies in the fact that social workers, psychotherapists, and psychologists are all trained professionals.
Each listens and understands how one thinks, feels, reacts, and how one exhibits behaviour. Therapists carefully observe and analyze the attitudes, emotions, and personalities of their clients. Then they discuss how to overcome various problems stemming from feelings and thoughts. If you sat down with any of these mental health professionals, you probably would not see much difference.
With so many different classifications of therapy professionals, it can be hard for those seeking help to know where to look. This frustration can serve as a barrier to adequate treatment. To help resolve this confusion, we outline the differences between different types of therapy professionals here.
Social Workers
As highly trained professionals, social workers can support clients with issues ranging from mental health to relationship struggles to community outreach. Social workers serve the community in various settings, including family services agencies, general and psychiatric hospitals, welfare agencies, and many others.
Some people don’t realize that social work includes psychotherapy (aka counselling). Their extensive training enables them to support clients with various mental health, emotional, behavioural, and social issues using various psychotherapy modalities. However, social workers look beyond the individual and look at how an individual’s environment and family impact their current situation.
How to Choose a Social Worker
When considering working with a social worker, look for a therapist who specializes in the issue that you want to work on. Most have extensive training beyond their Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in various issues, such as couples therapy, trauma, addictions, trauma, and mental health issues. They can be equally effective as any other therapist and are usually more cost-effective.
At the Vaughan Relationship Centre, most of our social workers have 15 to 20 years of experience with extensive training beyond their degrees.
Marriage/ Couple and Family Therapists
Those specially trained in couple relations and family counselling work specifically to help couples and family members understand each other and amicably resolve conflicts. They achieve this through a collection of therapy sessions in group settings (couple or family) and sometimes individually with one family member.
Couple and family therapists work as highly effective buffers between family members, mitigating conflict and helping to repair damage before it tears a relationship apart. For the most effective treatment for relationship problems, we recommend that you opt for a therapist specifically trained in Couples Therapy .
They can be more well-versed with such practices and have undergone rigorous training pertaining to marital and relationship issues. In Ontario, Marriage and Family Therapists are licensed under the Canadian Association for Couple and Family Therapy (CACFT) and are required to do 1000 hours with clients and supervised for 200 hours.
Psychotherapists
Registered Psychotherapists and social workers are very similar and can have similar training. Psychotherapists provide counselling to individuals, couples, and families.
Like social workers, psychotherapists cannot provide a diagnosis. However, they are effective in helping with various types of mental health issues and emotional and behavioural issues. In Ontario, many psychotherapists are also social workers, marriage and family therapists, or psychologists.
Psychologists
In Ontario, Psychologists have a doctorate degree and must have specific training in their area of focus. Psychologists can provide a diagnosis through psychological tests and assessment. In their training, they focus their research on various topics. This may include:
- mental health problems (depression counselling, anxiety counselling, etc.),
- rehabilitation and coping with disabilities and/or chronic illnesses,
- addictions and substance abuse,
- criminal behaviour,
- marital and family relationships,
- and lifestyle management such as anger or stress, among many others.
A psychologist’s scope of practice can branch into several specialties (such as child psychology).
Psychiatrists
We call medical doctors (M.D.) who specialize in mental health Psychiatrists. They must complete medical school, pass a written examination to receive a provincial license, complete four years of residency, and become board-certified.
Psychiatrists diagnose mental problems and their physical manifestations, including addiction and substance abuse disorders, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other personality disorders and mental health conditions.
In addition to psychotherapy treatments (“talk therapy”), psychiatrists are licensed to prescribe medications such as antidepressants, sedatives, and mood stabilizers to treat the corresponding disorder. In Ontario, you need a referral from your doctor to see a psychiatrist.
While some psychiatrists will do talk therapy, due to the high demand for resources, many psychiatrists will assess medication and connect clients with another counselling practitioner for counselling services.
How Do You Choose Between Different Types of Therapy Professionals?
Training
Regardless of the practitioner you select for support, be sure to find one trained to deal with your specific troubles. In time you will be on the road towards a brighter future.
Rapport
Research shows that although the therapist’s expertise is important, so is your connection with your therapist. For therapy to be effective, you need a strong rapport and connection with your therapist You must feel comfortable no matter the credentials of the therapist.
Coverage
Many extended health plans provide coverage for counselling. When choosing the right therapist for you, check with your provider about the type of therapy covered. We recommend you call them. Providers often cover many types of therapists not listed on the individual plan.
At VRC, we have a range of expertise with the opportunity to work with many clients. We do our best to meet our clients’ needs and provide the best therapy possible. Contact us today to learn how we can help.