Psychologist VS. Psychotherapist VS. Psychiatrist

Who is a psychologist? A psychotherapist? A psychiatrist? These specialists are often equated with each other or their activities are confused. And the public's attitude towards them can be inconsistent or dichotomous.

The point is that a psychologist is a general specialist who has a general psychological education. Psychology is multidisciplinary: educational psychology, child psychology, developmental psychology, management and organizational psychology, psychosomatics, pathopsychology, social psychology, legal psychology, etc. A psychologist can be a general specialist or specialize in a specific field of education, he can be a scientist, researcher or theorist. But a psychologist taken separately may not have psychotherapeutic education and special training.

As for a psychotherapist, he or she may be a psychologist, clinical psychologist, or a specialist in social and human sciences (medicine, sociology, philosophy, social work), who also has additional training in a specific psychotherapeutic direction. Therefore, when we are talking about a specific neurotic or psychological problem, a visit to a psychotherapist is required, not a psychologist.

A psychiatrist is a doctor by profession who specializes in one of the fields of medicine, psychiatry. He is focused on relieving and reducing the symptoms of mental illnesses, as well as achieving remission. He mainly focuses on drug treatment, although a particular psychiatrist may also use a specific psychotherapeutic methodology in the treatment process, or refer the patient to a psychotherapist in parallel. A psychiatrist deals with a patient with a specific mental disorder, psychopathology, whom he treats with the above-mentioned methodology.

A psychotherapist deals with both specific illnesses, such as anxiety, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, addictive disorders, sexual disorders, psychosomatic complaints, etc.; specific psychological problems, such as anxiety, phobias, self-esteem problems, aggressiveness, inferiority complex, communication difficulties, etc. A psychotherapist also works with “practically healthy” people who may have various psychological difficulties, such as psychological trauma, stress, crisis, search for meaning, family or interpersonal conflicts. A psychotherapist helps them overcome difficulties and grow personally using specific psychotherapeutic methods and techniques. A psychotherapist must know psychopathologies, be able to recognize them, differentiate them, understand the specifics of their symptoms, and work with them, although it is not his or her prerogative to make a diagnosis, let alone provide medication treatment.

Tamar Merabishvili - Psychologist, Psychotherapist, MSc., PhD., Director of Psychoars.