Baby "Barking Buoy"

Counselor, therapist, psychologist, psychiatrist, nurse practitioner, psychiatric nurse, advance practice nurse……So many different titles! What do they all mean, how are they different, and which one might you need to ask for to get mental health treatment? Let me break it down and explain. The terms counselor and therapist are often used interchangeably. But they often have many different titles after their names, such as MSW, LSW, LCSW, LPC, LMLP, PhD, PsyD and so on. Those titles simply indicate what type of educational program they completed to obtain the professional licensure they hold. The “SW” in a title stands for “Social Work” so any one with that title is a social worker. The “M” means they have a master’s degree in social work and the “L” means that, in addition to a master’s degree, they have also completed the requirements to become “licensed.” The “PC” means they are a “Professional Counselor”. When you see the titles LMLP, PhD, or PsyD they indicate that the person is a psychologist. Again, an “M” in their title means that they have a master’s level education. PhD and PsyD means they have doctorate degrees. To simplify things for practical purposes, the main difference between any type of social worker or counselor and a psychologist is that psychologists are trained and qualified to do psychological testing in addition to counseling/therapy. Psychological testing provides a more comprehensive picture but often is not necessary to be helpful for people looking for general counseling. Another question people often become confused about is who can prescribe medications. Only professionals who have medical education can order prescriptions. In the mental health field you would want the services of either a psychiatrist or an advanced practice nurse. A psychiatrist is a medical doctor (MD) with specialized education in mental disorders. An advanced practice nurse will have either the tile of DNP or APRN after their name. A DNP has completed doctorate level education while all other APRNs have master’s level educations. Only APRNs, DNPs, and psychiatrists can prescribe medications in the state of Kansas.