By understanding what each of these professions entail, we can understand the differences between them as well.
A counsellor is a mental health professional who holds a postgraduate degree in psychology or counselling psychology, and has significant experience in the mental health field. Counsellors help their clients with resolving emotional, mental, social, interpersonal, relationship and career related conflicts and problems. They may work with individuals, couples, and/or groups. Counsellors generally specialise within different areas in psychology like career counselling, education counselling, relationship and marriage counselling, mental health counselling, industrial counselling etc.
A psychologist is someone having a doctorate with a specialisation in the field of psychology. A psychologist usually conducts research exploring methods of treatment and diagnosis for various mental illnesses and investigates various psychological phenomena. They also commonly teach at universities.
A clinical psychologist commonly holds a PhD or PsyD and, like counsellors, provides aid to individuals who are experiencing psychological distress. However, they are known to deal with mental illnesses of a more “severe” degree, often working in mental health institutions and hospitals.
So as a recap; a psychologist mostly works within academia, whereas counsellors and clinical psychologists practice by working with clients directly. Counsellors work with all kinds of mental health problems whereas clinical psychologists commonly work with more serious and disruptive mental health conditions.
By Nancy, an intern at The Alternative Story
