What is the difference between a Clinical Psychologist and a Counsellor or Therapist?
Clinical Psychologists have extensive training in assessing a range of psychological difficulties and determining the most appropriate treatment to help you, as well as being trained in providing more than one type of treating therapy.
Therapists and Counsellors, usually specialise in providing just one type of therapy, such as Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, or Counselling, or Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. If you know what form of therapy would be most likely to help you, you might go directly to see a Therapist or a Counsellor.
Therapists and counsellors are not yet legally regulated professions in the UK, which means that anyone can call themselves one, irrespective of the level of training that they have received or the relevant qualifications that they hold. However, many therapists and counsellors voluntarily register with one of the major professional bodies, such as the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy or the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy.