I am a consultant therapist, but when I tell people that I am “MFT”, I am often met by an empty look. Many people seek psychological, psychological / emotional / behavioral / relational support, but they are confused about which professional to choose to help. As for providers, services, and their credentials, how do you decide whether they need a psychiatrist or a therapist, and what do these letters mean after the name?
While it is true that there are many professionals who offer counseling services based on a master’s or doctoral degree in psychology, it’s not true that all providers have the same level of training or qualifications. In an effort to reduce some confusion, the primary “counseling” professions with some brief definitions are listed for your consideration.
MFT - Marriage and Family Psychotherapist
The MFT is sometimes written as LMFT, but “L” is optional. For unlicensed persons it is prohibited to use the design of the MFT or LMFT. Professionally, MFT is a clinical psychotherapist licensed by the California Behavioral Science Council (otherwise known as BBS), working in private practice or at an agency or hospital to help individuals, couples, families, or groups deal effectively with psychological and relational difficulties. These specialists have a master’s degree and / or a doctoral degree, as well as additional clinical education in the dynamics of relationships and family systems.
Taken from the California Association of Marital and Family Therapists (CAMFT) website:
“Marriage and family therapists (MFTs) are relationship specialists who belong to people involved in interpersonal relationships. They are trained in the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of individuals, couples, families, and groups to achieve a more adequate, satisfactory, and productive marriage, and family and social adaptation. The practice also includes premarital counseling, counseling on children’s issues, counseling on divorce or separation and other counseling on relationships. Marriage and family therapists are psychotherapists and healing practitioners licensed by the state of California. Requirements for licensing include an associated doctor or a two-year-old master, a degree of comprehensive written and oral examination and at least 3000 hours of supervised experience. ”
In principle, people who are involved in any relationship can come to the MFT to help understand the dynamics of relationships, their roles in relationships, what problems from the past affect relationships, how to strengthen relationships or how to heal from previously tragic relationships, etc. e. MFTs work with couples, families, and people to improve communication experiences in relationships.
LCSW - a licensed clinical social worker
LCSW works in private practice or in an agency or hospital to help individuals, couples, families, or groups cope effectively with psychological and relational difficulties. These professionals have additional training in social work, which allows them to understand social programs and government systems that may be useful to clients.
MSW - Masters of Social Work (unlicensed provider)
SMEs work in agencies or hospitals to provide guidance for individuals and families through the state system. We often call SMEs simply “social workers.” These professionals are the foundation of social programs in this country and have been trained to navigate the “system” to ensure that people in need receive all the support and assistance available to them through the government.
LPC is a licensed professional advisor (not recognized by the California Council of Behavioral Sciences)
LPCs work in private practice or other agencies to advise individuals, couples, families, or groups. This project is a general certification in other states, but is not recognized in the state of California, as it currently does not meet the same academic and clinical standards required by other mental health professionals.
Clinical psychologist (Ph.D., Doctor of Psychology)
PhDs or PsyDs work in private practice or in an agency or hospital to help individuals, couples, families or groups cope effectively with psychological and relational difficulties. These specialists have additional academic (book) training (doctoral degree), which often means specialized training in a particular field.
If licensed, PhD. Egypt Psy.D. the design certifies them to the psychological testing of the administrator in addition to one-on-one work. These specialists can have both a doctoral degree and meet the clinical requirements for licensing a psychologist, or they can only have a “book” academic degree. Therefore, potential clients should always request specific training and education.
Psychiatrist (MD)
Working from a “medical model” point of view, psychiatrists working in private practice, or in an agency or hospital, help people with psychological difficulties by diagnosing “mental disorder” and incorporating drugs (psychotropic drugs) as part of an overall treatment plan. Psychiatrists are the only mental health professionals who can legally prescribe medications.
With minimal “counseling,” many psychiatrists will prescribe medications and revise timelines to analyze how the drug works to control the symptoms of a mental disorder. It is safe to say that most psychiatrists will work with psychotherapists (who have more training in counseling theories), and they will consult with the patient about the use of the drug (for example, discuss dosage, side effects, other treatment options); leaving the therapist to handle the psychological aspects of treating a patient. Some psychiatrists will not give medicine unless the patient also consults with a licensed therapist, while others will give medicine without question.
Some additional comments regarding professional practices and services for children:
As a controversy among professional therapists, physicians who have little or no special psychology training or counseling theory usually write recipes for psychotropic drugs for their patients. This is especially true for pediatricians (usually for family doctors), primarily prescribing medications for ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), anti-anxiety medications and anti-depressants, since very few psychiatrists specialize in treating children.
Most often, those psychiatrists who focus their practice on children, primarily work with severe mental illnesses or other common developmental disorders, and do not take on clients with minimal needs or focus on prevention / early intervention without medication, will be prescribed,
Although all therapeutic providers must work with a minimum number of hours with children to obtain a license, many of them do not “specialize” or do not focus their practice on children, and many of them do not receive much clinical training for children outside of their educational (training) education. . Most providers limit their practice to certain groups of the population (for example, couples, individuals, elders, families, children, adolescents, etc.) and / or specific problems (for example, family problems, dependencies, sexuality, conflict resolution, brain trauma, depression, bipolar disorder, etc.), but some do not specify. Fortunately, the legal and ethical principles of the profession prohibit providers from working outside the sphere of competence and training, requiring suppliers to refer clients / patients to another provider who is trained to better meet needs.
