What's the difference between a therapist, psychologist, and counselor?
It might seem complicated, but we're here to help
If you’re just starting to look for a therapist in Denver or another city, you might be wondering what the differences are between therapists, psychologists, counselors, and even life coaches.
In general, many of these terms are used in the same way, but you might also find mental health professionals that also call themselves counselors, psychotherapists, marriage and family therapists, professional counselors, and in some cases, social workers.
While all of these people are there to help you improve your mental health and well-being, it can be pretty confusing to understand what the differences are between them. We’ll help you figure it out.
What makes us different?
We’re one of the only therapy group practices in Colorado with licensed professional counselors, marriage and family therapists, addiction counselors, and social workers actively seeing clients,
We help people get started with therapy in weeks, not months. And most of our therapists’ rates are lower than the average rates for therapy in Denver.
Therapist vs. psychologist
Whether you meet with a therapist or psychologist, the good news is that you’re very likely in good hands from a training perspective.
Both of these mental health professionals should have a deep knowledge of therapeutic principles, methods, and understand how the mind works. They’ve gone to college, grad school, and gotten plenty of training and time with clients before meeting you.
They should be able to help diagnose what you’re going through and be an active, listening participant in your time together. Mental health providers like therapists and psychologists are skilled at creating treatment plans and helping you develop skills that can help improve your life and the symptoms that have brought you to therapy. They help you understand yourself, what you’re going through, and can provide you with ways to cope with specific issues.
One big thing, therapists and psychologists generally cannot prescribe medication to their clients in the vast majority of states. That’s something that’s usually handled by psychiatrists (usually more expensive), nurse practitioners, and medical doctors. So if you’re specifically looking for a prescription to help with a mental health condition, a therapist or psychologist will likely not be able to prescribe medication for you, but they could have a relationship with a professional in your area who can help.
Licensed therapists and psychologists have completed thousands of hours of training, which usually takes two or more years of seeing clients in different settings. This is extremely different from someone like a life coach, who can become “certified” in a weekend. Even when a therapist or psychologist is on their way to becoming licensed, they might’ve seen at least a hundred, if not hundreds, of clients before they’ve met with you—and you might find that they’re actually the best fit for you.
Mental health professionals (not life coaches or social media guru-types) are generally required to respect your privacy and confidentiality. As professionals, they’re required to meet standards of quality, follow a code of ethics, and demonstrate a level of moral values.
A therapist is someone who has been trained in or practices one or more types of therapy to treat mental or physical disorders. For mental health, the word “therapist” is generally used in the same way as psychotherapist. A psychologist can be referred to as a therapist, but a therapist isn’t necessarily a psychologist. It can be confusing—many therapists and counselors might not even know the difference.
A psychologist is professionally trained in at least one field of psychology, and much like a therapist, they work to improve their clients’ mental and emotional health.
Psychologists are oftentimes more likely to work with clients with more severe mental disorders compared to a counselor or therapist, but the latter can also specialize in working with issues that include things like borderline personality disorder with training and experience.
Psychologists need to complete an undergraduate degree, Master’s degree, and complete a doctoral degree in philosophy, psychology, or education. When you see the “Dr.” in front of someone’s name, they might’ve done about five additional years of coursework (and there are usually additional costs of therapy associated with their experience).
What's the difference between a therapist and counselor?
Mental health counselors and therapists occupy the same area as professionals and often work with similar populations of people. These two terms are usually used pretty interchangeably in everyday life, and many therapists will call themselves counselors for simplicity. However, there are some differences in the approach that they take to treatment.
A counselor is a fairly broadly used term for someone who is professionally trained in psychology, counseling, nursing, or social work. You’ve likely heard of college counselors, career counselors, or even guidance counselors in schools. However, a mental health counselor is specifically dedicated to helping people work on their mental health.
Mental health counselors can often work on specific problems or issues in someone’s life in very practical ways, and they could have a wide range of responsibilities depending on their job. They could do evaluations, provide resources, and share suggestions on different techniques someone can use to help address their issues near-term. Counselors often specialize in a particular issue, while many therapists have a wider range of specialties.
If a counselor is helping someone with anxiety, they might teach them practical skills that can help them avoid having a panic attack in specific situations. They could also give someone a set of coping steps and skills when they feel like they’re about to partake in a behavior that they’re trying to avoid. The skills someone learns from a counselor can be incredibly helpful and practical.
Therapists can help people work on the same things as counselors, and the types of advice that they provide for someone might be very similar. That being said, therapists often try to learn more about helping someone understand why they’re feeling the way that they are and reacting to things in a certain way.
Instead of teaching people how to react to a situation, they might also help someone explore what causes them to react the way that they do and identify which types of situations create more challenges for them than others. They try to help people identify the cause of their issues using different techniques.
While a counselor might also call themself a therapist (and vice versa) for simplicity’s sake, a trained therapist often provides a more long-term view of how to help improve someone’s life.
In most cases, most mental health counselors and therapists have Master’s degrees and are licensed by the state where they work and have received significant training and education.
What about life coaches?
Unlike therapists and trained mental health counselors, including licensed marriage and family therapists, licensed addiction counselors, licensed social workers, and licensed professional counselors, life coaches aren’t governed by any federal or state board, nor is there a minimum educational requirement to become one. Almost anyone can become a life coach with a credit card and some time.
While life coaches can absolutely be helpful with goal-setting and helping you improve your life, they may have very little actual qualifications and trainings to provide you with mental health services or therapy. If you search for life coach certification courses online, you’ll find countless programs that can be completed in a weekend or up to 6 months with very little additional training or actual coursework required.
Life coaches can absolutely help people in many ways, but know that the person might have minimal actual training, education, and that certifications can be completed online in days. This is vastly different from the thousands of hours with clients that therapists need to become licensed in a state.
Meet our Denver therapists
My Denver Therapy is one of the largest woman-owned therapy private practices in Colorado with many of the best, most requested therapists in Denver.
As a therapist-owned practice with decades of combined experience, we care about seeing our clients heal, grow, and thrive. We’re one of the only therapy practices in Colorado with licensed professional counselors, marriage and family therapists, addiction counselors, social workers, and psychiatric nurse practitioners who actively see new clients. Whether you’re an adult, teen, young adult, couple, or family, our inclusive therapist team is built to specialize in you.
Our practice started with one therapist in a shared office suite, but we’ve grown to help thousands of people in Colorado by providing in-person therapy at our conveniently located Denver Metro area counseling offices in Denver, Greenwood Village, and Lone Tree, plus online therapy for clients throughout Colorado. Because of the way our team works, our therapists provide consultation for other therapists and private practices in the Denver Metro area.
Our inclusive therapists provide some of the most innovative, effective, and in-demand forms of therapy available today, including EMDR, Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, CBT, and IFS. We also have more therapists trained in Ketamine-assisted therapy and more teen therapists and young adult counselors than nearly every other private practice in Denver.
We know that clients want to find the best therapists in Denver, so our team includes therapists with different backgrounds, specialities, and experiences to help you find the right fit. We’ll match you with one of our therapists who is the best for your goals, location, budget, and schedule to help you get started quickly.
We’re out of network for insurance, Tricare, and are unable to take Medicaid, but most of our therapists’ rates are lower than the local and national averages for therapy.
All of our therapists take a client-focused approach to counseling and approach each session with a commitment to your progress and growth.
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Please note: We’re unable to accept Medicaid or insurance.
Our rates are listed on our website. MDMA and Psilocybin-assisted therapy aren’t available yet. We are out of network for all types of insurance, including TRICARE.