What’s the Difference Between and Therapist and a Counselor?
Learn about the differences between the title of therapist and counselor.
What’s the Difference Between a Therapist and a Counselor?
Technically, anyone can open up an office and call themself a therapist. Scary, right? But there are laws against someone claiming to be a licensed clinician when they are not.
Someone who is a licensed counselor or licensed social worker has completed a Master’s degree program as well as supervised time working with clients post graduation and has successfully passed an exam in their state to earn the title of Licensed Mental Health Counselor or Licensed Clinical Social Worker.
The names for these licenses vary by state - for example, in Illinois a fully licensed counselor’s title is Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) while in Florida the title is Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC).
So, all licensed clinicians can call themselves therapists, but not all therapists are necessarily licensed professionals.
Why does this matter? A licensed professional has training in areas a generic therapist, life coach or other professional doesn’t necessarily have. So if you’re interested in finding out if you have a specific diagnosis or are struggling with suicidal ideation, a licensed professional has training in how to diagnose, assess, and treat diagnosable mental health conditions and other mental health concerns.
If you’re interested in looking up the status of a professional’s license, you can do so online - each state has a different process for this, but most are available online where you can search an individual’s name and see how long they’ve had their license, if there’s any disciplinary action taken on their license, etc. Sites like Psychology Today verify the license of each individual listed on their site, so you can be certain their license is in good standing.
Maryann Dernlan is the Owner and Founder of Replenish and Renew Counseling LLC that provides telehealth mental health counseling services across the state of Florida. She is a wife, a mom, dance teacher, football fan, and is grateful to help others find healing through counseling.
How to Get The Most Out of Therapy
How to Get the Most Out of Therapy - Be honest, have realistic expectations, define progress alongside your counselor, and expect to get uncomfortable in order to grow.
How to Get the Most Out of Therapy
Be Honest
Therapy is a commitment of your time, your finances, and your emotional capacity. So why not attempt to make the most out of the process? As a counselor, I can only work with what my clients tell me and are honest about with me. So to get the most out of the counseling process, it’s important you’re honest with both yourself and your therapist.
Have Realistic Expectations
Recognize that the first few sessions of therapy are a time your counselor is attempting to build rapport with you. During your first session, your clinician will likely be gathering background information about you and why you have decided to start therapy at this particular time in your life. It’s an opportunity for you and your therapist to get to know each other and to establish trust in your clinical relationship. Once your clinical relationship is established and you’re ready to start applying what you discuss in session outside of sessions, this is when the real healing and growth will begin.
Define Progress Alongside Your Counselor
One area many clients do themself a disservice in is incorrectly defining progress for their counseling process. I’ll have a client making tremendous personal progress, but those around them are still creating chaos in their own lives or continuing to live in unhealthy relational patterns with my client. They’ll come to session and say “I’m not making any progress.” This provides the opportunity to have conversations regarding what progress means and what is within my client’s control and what is outside of their control. Clinical progress does not mean everything in your life will suddenly get easier, but it should mean you’ll be able to cope with life’s difficulties in healthier ways than before you started counseling.
Expect to Get Uncomfortable In Order to Grow
You never grow inside your comfort zone. I always remind my clients that they may not leave each counseling session feeling better than when they came in. Sometimes, you talk about difficult topics or uncover difficult memories you haven’t thought about in years. Sometimes feeling emotionally drained after a session means you’re doing the work you need to in order to heal and grow. Healing is possible and it is worth it, but it takes the sacrifice of comfortability at times. You can do hard things and you’re worth achieving a greater level of wellness.
Maryann Dernlan is the Owner and Founder of Replenish and Renew Counseling LLC that provides telehealth mental health counseling services across the state of Florida. She is a wife, mom, dance teacher, football fan, and is grateful to help others find healing through counseling.
How to Find a Therapist
How to Find a Therapist - Research, contact, and commit!
How to Find a Therapist
One of the biggest barriers to care I hear about from clients is actually the first step of finding a therapist. I even experienced the difficulty of this process myself - when I moved from Chicago to South Florida years ago and needed to find a new counselor, I spent a considerable amount of time online and on the phone trying to find someone who had availability and took my insurance.
Oftentimes, when one picks up the phone to make an appointment or Googles “therapy near me,” they’re past the point of needing help - they really needed it a while ago, but life’s stressors pulled them away from being able to take the time to find a mental healthcare provider.
If this is you, or you’re looking for a provider for someone you love, I wanted to share a few quick steps to make your search easier.
Research, Contact, Commit
Research
Decide whether you plan to use insurance or pay out of pocket, as this will dictate how you search and filter your searches for a provider.
Utilize a website like Psychology Today where you can filter on many different criteria including insurance accepted, faith background, conditions treated, etc.
If you plan to use insurance, your insurance company likely has a directory of providers you can search through, as well
Choose 3-5 providers who you think might be a good fit to contact to check availability, insurance coverage, etc.
If you have specific preferences for a clinician, you can search for other organizations and databases of clinicians, as well. For example, the South Florida Association of Christian Counselors has a directory of Christian counselors if incorporating your faith into your therapy journey is important to you.
Contact
Next, you’ll need to decide how you’d like to connect with the providers you’ve chosen to see if they might be a good fit for you or your loved one to work with.
Call their office
Email their office
Request an initial appointment or consultation directly through their website
Commit
Put the appointment on your schedule and attend with an open mind. If you have fears about the counseling process, share them with your counselor! You’ve done a lot of work to get to this point - it’s time to take the intimidating but important step of starting the counseling process to transform your life.
Maryann Dernlan is the Owner and Founder of Replenish and Renew Counseling LLC that provides telehealth mental health counseling services across the state of Florida. She is a wife, mom, dance teacher, football fan, and is grateful to help others find healing through counseling.