Unfortunately, due to the contiguity of professions and the lack of clear regulatory legislation, in Russia there is confusion in the humanitarian and medical professions of psychologist and psychotherapist. Let's shed some light on what The same difference between professions: psychologist, clinical psychologist, psychotherapist, psychiatrist. A psychologist provides psychological consultation and works with healthy people. The range of problems with which you can turn to a psychologist is quite large. In short, it is the relationship with oneself and the surrounding world (social, professional, etc.). A psychologist may have a narrower specialization - a child psychologist or family psychologist, perinatal psychologist, crisis psychologist, as well as specialization in the method he was trained in. If training allows you to work with disorders, this also has a place to be. A clinical psychologist also deals with psychological consultation and has a higher psychological education, but has more in-depth knowledge about human mental disorders, has experience working not only with healthy people (somatically and mentally ill ). A clinical psychologist can promptly recognize the onset of a painful mental process and refer to another specialist - a psychiatrist, neurologist. Works with both psychological norms and pathological changes in the psyche + psychodiagnostics. Psychologist and clinical psychologist as humanitarian specialists do not have the right to make medical diagnoses or prescribe medications drugs. They only have the right to describe the symptom complex of a particular client, possibly for subsequent treatment by a doctor. A psychotherapist, according to the laws of the Russian Federation, is a DOCTOR who provides psychotherapy to his patients. The most important point is that a psychotherapist can diagnose mental disorders and prescribe the necessary medication for the patient. Psychotherapy is a longer and deeper process, unlike counseling psychology, and there are many areas of psychotherapy. However, the medical nature of psychotherapy does not mean that psychotherapy can only be carried out by a doctor. Humanitarian psychologists are also trained in psychotherapeutic approaches and can provide non-medical psychotherapy to their clients, without making a diagnosis or prescribing medications. Ideally, the patient is managed in parallel by a doctor and a psychologist. In Russia, it is still not customary to call oneself a psychotherapist without being a doctor, although the prefix “therapist” is often used to denote specialization in a specific method of work (CBT therapist, Gestalt therapist, schema therapist). Contact the three above-mentioned specialists (psychologist, clinical psychologist, psychotherapist) is possible on a wide range of issues, however, it is important to remember that only a psychotherapist can make a diagnosis and prescribe pharmacological treatment. A psychiatrist is also a DOCTOR, he may not be a psychotherapist, but only make diagnoses and treat medication, without resorting to psychotherapy. In my opinion, a rather significant feature is that psychiatrists often ignore the aspect of their relationship with patients and do not use their psyche in communication with the patient. The relationship is working, superficial, soulless. The goal is to determine whether there is a diagnosis, make it and prescribe treatment. As accurately as possible, in my opinion, this is displayed in this table, found on the Internet: So, a psychologist and a clinical psychologist are a humanitarian education, a higher psychological one. A psychotherapist and a psychiatrist are higher medical degrees. Very often you can find combinations and retraining. If there are suspicions of personality disorders, borderline and psychotic conditions, it is better to consult a doctor immediately. A specialist can have any number of additional education and certificates, but his professional credentials are based on basic education. I specifically tried to talk about these professions in the order.