Types of Mental Health Professionals & Who Can Help You

Which type of mental health professional is right for me? There are many types of mental health professionals, and finding the right one to help you recover from anxiety, depression, or any other disorder is crucial. As a Pompano Beach treatment center that offers mental health care for all kinds of conditions, we understand the importance of connecting patients with the appropriate specialists. To help you in your journey to finding treatment, we’re sharing a list of different kinds of mental health professionals.

List of Different Types of Mental Health Professionals

Finding the right mental health professional can help you regain control of your health and life. We’ve pulled together the basic information you need to know about the different types of mental health professionals out there to determine which might be the right fit for you.

Psychologist

The word psychologist is usually the first one that comes to mind when people think of mental health care or therapy. Many people imagine someone lying on a leather couch telling the doctor about their feelings. While that does sometimes happen, psychologists do a lot more than just ask how you’re feeling.

Psychologists are mental health professionals that hold degrees in clinical psychology or another specialty such as counseling or education. They’re trained to evaluate a person’s mental health using clinical interviews, psychological evaluations, and testing.

Psychologists can also make diagnoses and provide individual and group therapy to patients and their loved ones. Specific forms of therapy psychologists may train to administer can include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and other behavioral therapy interventions.

Degree requirements: Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in a field of psychology or Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.).

Licensure & credentials: State license.

Psychiatrist

Psychiatrists are licensed medical doctors who have completed psychiatric training. They can diagnose mental health disorders, prescribe and monitor medication, and they can provide therapy. Some have also completed additional training in child and adolescent mental health care, addiction therapy, and geriatric psychiatry. Psychiatrists may also practice forensic psychiatry or treat individuals with learning disabilities.

Degree requirements: Doctor of Medicine (MD) or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO), as well as completion of residency training in psychiatry.

Licensure & credentials: State license. They may also be designated as Board Certified Psychiatrists by the Board of Neurology and Psychiatry.

Psychoanalyst

A psychoanalyst follows the theories and practices of Sigmund Freud, focusing on helping patients explore repressed or unconscious impulses, anxieties, and internal conflicts. Psychoanalysts may treat patients with techniques like free association, dream interpretation, and analysis of resistance and transference. While many are critical of this practice, psychoanalysis has helped some explore deep psychological and emotional disturbances that could or have contributed to harmful patterns of behavior, such as substance abuse or self-harm.

Unfortunately, the title and credentials of a psychoanalyst are not protected by federal or state law, meaning that anyone can call themselves a psychoanalyst and advertise their services as such. Be careful in selecting one if you’re interested in this kind of treatment.

Psychotherapist

A psychotherapist is a general term for many types of mental health professionals, including psychologists and therapists, all of whom provide psychotherapy. Psychotherapy is also known as talk therapy and is designed to improve clients’ mental health and well-being by “walking” them through various scenarios, past experiences, and emotions.

There are several types of psychotherapy, including talk therapy, group therapy, expressive therapy, and more. The most popular kind of psychotherapy, however, is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT helps patients learn how to change bad or negative behaviors, thought patterns, and emotional reactions.

Degree requirements: Master’s degree in majors like social work, psychology, mental health counseling, or counseling psychology.

Licensure & credentials: RN licensure and Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing Certification (PMH-BC).