In many places, both with patients and groups, I have recently received the question about what are the differences between a psychologist or a counsellor, and it is true that in Australia it would seem that it´s the same. And my answer is always the same: "no, it's not the same". It is important to be able to recognize the differences between them in order to decide what level of treatment is appropriate for each person. The success of the treatment will largely depend on this differentiation. Since it´s not the same to present existential doubts or problems than recurring conflicts or clinical pathologies. These must be handled carefully by an expert. Psychologists are mental health professionals who have completed a Bachelor of Psychology. Within this area is Organizational Psychology (work in companies), Educational and Clinical (work with patients in the office). In order to be a Clinical Psychologist, you need to take a master's degree, doctorate or do an internship with supervised practices. There are many orientations in clinical psychology (systemic, psychoanalysis, cognitive-behavioral, among many others) and the theoretical framework and methodology that the psychologist will apply in his clinical practice will depend on them. Psychology is a science, therefore, it uses evidence based on case studies to support its methods. Its study takes years (approximately 6 to 10, although it never stops learning) and requires for its effective practice to be actively in a psychological process or in clinical supervision. Psychologists are experts in emotions, behaviors and mental processes. Its general task is to investigate the symptoms and, depending on the orientation, delve into the causes that may be underlying these symptoms' appearance. The patient is the one who comes up with his/her own answers. Counseling is a study that can be taken at various levels (course, career, master's or doctoral degree) on diverse integrative therapies that can help clients coping with their emotions or conflicts. The intervention in general is at the conscious level, so its objective is not to delve into the causes of the symptomatology, but to try to remove it. On the other hand, Psychiatry is a specialization within Clinical Medicine that is in charge of working with Psychiatric / Psychological Disorders prescribing pharmacology. Sometimes it is a requirement of the treatment that the patient is medicated, in that case the treatment is multidisciplinary.
In my clinical experience, most of the times that a symptom appears it is an indicator of some unconscious conflict, so trying to approach it from motivational or merely behavioural strategies is counterproductive. When a symptom appears it is necessary to listen to it, before trying to transform it, because if we rush a change without understanding it, the most probable thing is that it will appear again or become chronic. The aforementioned specialties do not conflict with each other, they can almost always be complementary. Success depends on the reason for the consultation, condition and specialist. If you are suffering from any symptom that deteriorates your mental health, do not hesitate to find the specialist that best suits you
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