Psychology and psychotherapy are not the same as psychiatry (the practice of medical doctors who prescribe/manage psychiatric medication and sometimes also provide psychotherapy). Psychotherapy (sometimes called therapy or “talk therapy”) can be performed by a number of people with different kinds of licenses. These include Psychiatrists (MD) and also Marriage and Family Therapists (AMFT, LMFT), Clinical Social Workers (ACSW, LCSW), Professional Clinical Counselors (APCC, LPCC), Psychological Assistants (MA), and Psychologists (PsyD, PhD). There are many different theoretical orientations in the practice of psychotherapy (psychodynamic, psychoanalytic, internal family systems/IFS, cognitive behavioral/CBT, acceptance and commitment/ACT, dialectical and behavioral/DBT). Psychodynamic/psychoanalytic theories of practice include intersubjectivist, contemporary relational, self psychological, interpersonal, object relational, and classical philosophies.

Grace E. Hazeltine, Ph.D.