When we talk about health and regular checkups, we often forget that in addition to our physical health, we also need to pay attention to our mental health. In the world, as well as in our country, there are licensed mental health professionals who can help us work on ourselves, improve the quality of our lives and preserve our mental health.
Finding the right specialist to help you begin your therapeutic process is no easy task. The good news is that there are mental health professionals who are dedicated to providing good therapy and realistic solutions to overcome everyday life problems.
Through this article, we will try to clarify the difference between psychologists, psychiatrists and psychotherapists.
We spoke with therapists from center for psychological development "Know Yourself" from Novi Sad, who helped us clarify the difference between these three therapists:
Who is a psychologist and how can psychology help us?
"Psychology it includes the study of human behavior, as a science it had to determine its method of measurement and for that it chose tests and statistics. Psychologists are therefore experts in the field of classification of human behavior, they can give you based on their tests a detailed analysis of your personality and to be delighted with it, however, these results usually do not serve much purpose, except in certain situations when an adequate diagnosis must be established for adequate drug therapy", she told us. Jelena, master psychologist and psychotherapist from the Know Yourself Center.
Who is a psychiatrist?
"That brings us to the psychiatrist. Psychiatrist is a person who is a doctor of medicine with special specialization in psychiatry. Since a psychiatrist is a doctor of medicine, they are employed in hospitals, and they are visited by people who need to establish a diagnosis and prescribe adequate therapy. In their work, they most often use pharmacotherapy (medicines). So, the main job of a psychiatrist is to establish a diagnosis and give medication to his patient. A talk with a psychiatrist, although sometimes pleasant, is not an adequate treatment of the personality and often does not solve the deeper problems of the person who comes for help".
When is it time to contact a psychotherapist?
"Psychotherapists are graduate psychologists, or even doctors of medicine - psychiatrists, who have additional education in the field of psychotherapy. Psychotherapy school lasts an additional 4 years and there are many directions in psychotherapy (TA - transactional analysis, REBT, Gestalt,...). When you want to talk to someone i through the story solve it their problems, the right person for you is a psychotherapist! You do not need a diagnosis to talk to a psychotherapist, nor will the psychotherapist prescribe you pharmacotherapy, going to a psychotherapist means taking care of yourself and your mental health. If necessary, the psychotherapist will refer you to a psychiatrist, but only persons who have received additional education in the field of psychotherapy are competent enough to help you progress and strengthen yourself through a conversation with them. The process of psychotherapy is long, and it requires the involvement of both the psychotherapist and you, it starts with the story and finding deeper problems, and then work on mastering techniques and overcoming difficulties. Psychotherapy is a long process, but the results are permanent".
For the end,
I hope we were able to help you decide which of these therapists is right for you, or to encourage you to take the next step, which is a short conversation with a therapist, click here and talk to experts from the center for psychological counseling and psychotherapy Know Yourself, they are here for you, to help you get to know yourself better, to untangle the tangled parts of your life and get back on the road to your authenticity.
