What’s the difference between Psychologists and a therapist?

Simply put, all psychologists are therapists but not all therapists are psychologists. A psychologist earns an advanced degree of at least a Ph.D. or Phy.D and works under the supervision of a Psychiatrist (MD). A therapist generally has earned a masters level education.

pulled from Google:

A psychologist often works in tandem with a psychiatrist, who is also a medical doctor and can prescribe medication if it is determined that medication is necessary for a patient's treatment. ... A therapist's goal is to help patients make decisions and clarify their feelings in order to solve problems

Hi Devetra,

Here's a Google link with a fairly concise answer; https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=What%E2%80%99s+the+difference+between+Psychologists+and+a+therapist?&spf=73

A psychologist often works in tandem with a psychiatrist, who is also a medical doctor and can prescribe medication if it is determined that medication is necessary for a patient's treatment. A therapist's goal is to help patients make decisions and clarify their feelings in order to solve problems in some cases. In other cases, a therapist also instructs a patient by providing examples on what they can do to assist themselves prior to needing medication. Such is the case with a Physical Therapist who might instruct a patient on useful exercises to build strength in a certain area of their body. For Example, their lower back, which may be a problem area for the patience, in which case the therapist would focus on exercises which strengthen the core muscle groups to avoid back surgery. The same would be true for a phycho-therapist.

There are different types of therapists. Specifically there are several occupations and training types for people that practice psychotherapy, which is the treatment of mental and behavioral disorders. Psychologists, psychiatrists, clinical social workers, professional counselors, and marriage/family therapists may practice psychotherapy with similar strategies and goals but perhaps different emphases. For example, a psychiatrist is a medical doctor and a family therapist has family dynamics training. A psychologist focuses on human behavior, developmental, mental and emotional factors relating to a client's functioning. There are different training requirements for different professions that practice psychotherapy. There are also various state licensing requirements to be aware of.

Devetra, the resources you've received here are paint an excellent picture of the differences between Psychiatry, which requires and M.D. and Psychology which requires a PhD, or at the minimum a masters, to be a therapist.