How is a Psychologist Different from other Providers?
A lot of people have questions about how a psychologist is different from a psychiatrist or from other counsellors. Here are some answers to those questions.
PSYCHOLOGISTS
Regulated (licensed/registered) with a code of ethics and standards of practice.
May assess, diagnose, and treat (they can provide formal psychological assessments when trained as this is a specialty area only psychologists do).
Cannot prescribe medication.
Specialized training and a residency in psychology, counselling, assessment, and diagnosis.
Specialist.
Insurance is usually covered.
PSYCHIATRISTS
Regulated (licensed/registered) with a code of ethics and standards of practice.
Can assess, diagnose, and treat. They do not provide some formal psychological assessments but have psychiatric assessments.
Can prescribe medications.
Specialized training in medicine and a residency in psychiatry.
Specialist.
Often covered by public health insurance.
Regulated Counsellors
Are certified or registered.
Have training and may have supervised practice in counselling.
Cannot prescribe.
May not be covered by insurance companies.
Unregulated Counsellors
Are not certified or regulated.
May or may not have training or supervision in counselling.
Cannot prescribe.
May not be covered by insurance companies.
The point is not to say one provider is better than another. Each individual has different training, perspectives, and scopes of practice (services they can offer). Depending on your needs, different providers can be the best fit. The benefits of a regulated provider is that they have met certain standards and have a code of ethics they must follow, all of which protect you as the client. Regulated providers also have the training to provide you with professional evidence-based services.