Basically...... how do mental health counselors differ from other helping professionals?

Recently I've found myself in social setting where the topic of discussion has been my career path compared to other helping professions. So in this post we'll go over some of the differences and similarities among various professions, specifically focusing on psychologists, psychiatrists, and different types of "counselors" that people might interact with.

Let's start by vaguely defining who a mental health counselor is and what qualifications are needed to be classified as such. A mental health counselor, MHC, is someone who is trained to treat people with behavioral, emotional, or mental issues. A MHC can either be licensed or registered (or registered intern). To become licensed one must first be registered, to become registered one has to graduate from an accredited university with a master's degree in mental health counseling. There are center qualifications, governed by the individual universities and states, that each student must obtain before graduating. Upon graduation the student then applies to become registered, again following rules that are set by each state. Every state has set requirements that have to be completed before a registered MHC can apply for licensure. Registered and licensed MHCs have ethic codes that they have to follow as well as laws that they have to abide by also. Not that we've covered MHCs, let's explore some other professions

MHC vs. Psychiatrists 

    Psychiatrist are medical doctors who also specialize in diagnosing and treating individuals with behavioral, emotional, or mental issues. Psychiatrists link the medicine with emotional issues, usually treating mental health issues with medication, rather than therapy like MHCs do. Many psychologist, similar to MHCs, have specific areas they specialize in that they are known for, some examples being addictions, childhood early onset, or geriatrics. Think of this as teacher who teaches a particular subject. Unlike MHCs, psychiatrists have to go through medical school and the biggest difference is that psychiatrists are the only mental health professionals that can prescribe medication for those with mental illnesses.


MHC vs Psychologist

     Psychologist are graduate professionals who have doctoral degrees in Ph. D, PsyD, or EdD. Similar to MHCs, psychologists can also specialize in working with individuals with mental health issues. However psychologists can provide a host of various services, including counseling. Other aspects include research, teaching, administering and scoring assessments, and many many more other aspects of helping. Psychologist are not able to prescribe medication like psychiatrist. This link will give you more information regarding what psychologist do in their profession.

MHC vs Other counselors

     There are countless "counselors" or "therapists" that are not operating within the same line of MHCs. Some of these professionals can be life coaches, religious counselors, substance abuse counselors, or other working titles that include "counselor." The main differences between these professions and MHCs is the level of education and certification needed. Some professions allow for specific courses for certification, none that are overly extensive and usually are easily attainable. Whereas other professions require no type of training, certification, or licensure at all. The issues that lie with these types of professionals is there there is no board of peers regulating the way individuals operate. In other words, there's no ethical committee making sure that your counselor is treating you to the best of their ability.


Why is it to know the differences?
    Suppose you know someone who has been recently diagnosed with a mental health issue, what do you do now? Who do you speak to now? Knowing the difference helps with getting the appropriate treatment. Hope you found this to be helpful y'all.