Talk:Mental health professional

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[edit] 07.26.06 - Article Creation

The purpose of the article is to clarify & compare the roles of specific mental health professionals (i.e. Psychiatrists vs. psychologists, therapists vs. social workers). There are many articles showcasing specific differences within the specific fields, however no articles had yet adequately bridged the gap between therapists, psychologists and psychiatrists, etc. Certain articles would briefly touch on the subject comparing only one other mental health professional with the main article.

I hope this article continues to do two things long after I'm done editing it - 1. Respectfully and accurately compares the differences between mental health professionals both in education/training required and specialties. The general theme of the article should leave the reader to understand that nearly all mental health professionals, especially those who are certified, are fully capable of treating mental disorders or problems with varying treatment options, and if they are not capable of dealing with a specific case will refer the patient to the specialized professional. 2. Presents a summary of all known (keeping a world view) mental health professionals. I have tried to always notate main articles & see-alsos throughout the article. This should not be the one-stop place to find all information on a specific professional (purpose of main article linking), but should provide a concise summary of each for the purpose of comparison and definition of what mental health professionals are.

I've seen a lot of weird and derogatory comments on the Internet, some from certified professionals themselves making inaccurate comments about professions (i.e. "You call a clinical psychologist a doctor but they aren't really doctors" or "Psychiatrists only use medication to treat patients they never actually work through the problems") I hope this article sort of combats this. I feel its important to accurately and respectfully compare differences (like mentioning a Ph.D. and an M.D. are both doctorates & psychiatrists are in fact trained in providing therapy).

Finally, I've added a tag for an expert to correct and/or add any critical missing information in the article. Although I'm studying to go into this field, I'm still only an undergraduate and there are people out there that know a LOT more than I do :). I've quoted and/or sourced all material (sometimes paraphrasing) from the other specific articles. Again, please remember these aren't the main articles for each profession so we shouldn't have too large of a description for each, but if I'm leaving out important items or mentioning non-important ones, please add them. Chupper 14:26, 27 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Review of new article

First, nice work so far. I hope the following will help give some ideas for it to develop. Its a quick summary of "things I'd look at":

  1. There's a subtle title question, because there are two approaches. One is to look at the different mental health professional titles, and summarize what they do and how they differ. The other is to look at different aspects and approaches to mental health itself. For example, the first would look at psychiatrist v. psychologist v.psychotherapist. The second would look at psychiatry v. psychology v. psychotherapy, and compare the fields. I'm not sure how to handle it. I'm almost tempted to say that what would work better is, "mental health professional" lists the types of professional -- but links to an article "Fields within mental health" that compares and contrasts actual fields and approaches, for that aspect.
  2. Right now, I (presumably) still lack a clear understanding of how the approach of a psychiatrist and a psychologist and a psychotherapist vary, their core attitude to mental health, in what way these are not the same subject, the different axioms or understandings or methodologies they follow,... that whole issue isn't clear to me from this article yet.
  3. What I'm looking for is something like this: Psychiatry was baeed upon the works of A and grew from the principles and studies of B. Its approach to mental health is that C, unlike psychotherapy which views it as D, as a result of which typically it is used for E. Psychiatric training involves F." In other words, a summary that compares the fields. I'm not yet sure we have that cleanly divided.

Any use? FT2 (Talk | email) 18:06, 2 August 2006 (UTC)

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you and thanks for the praise! This was a fun article to start and a lot of people have contributed stuff far beyond my knowledge.

In response to what you wrote:

  1. A great idea. I wouldn't mind an article comparing only psychiatry and psychology, however there are so many different types of mental health professionals, we couldn't compare all of them. Since we have A B C D E F - it would be A vs. B, A vs. C., A vs. D., D vs. C, etc etc. This might become too much to take care of even if they were created. My opinion is comparing the "Big two" - psychiatry and psychology.
  2. Well you're just like most people. I would recommend reading through this article and the main articles linked to. Here's a general summary that I'll try to use to help you out.. Our society today doesn't really notice the difference. You'll see on TV psychiatrists providing couple therapy to work an issue out in their marriage. Although this could happen, this certainly isn't the norm, but people think it is. A marriage & family therapist or psychologist would most likely be in this chair. Basically psychiatrists are MEDICAL DOCTORS. They can help you set a broken bone, or prescribe medication for a regular medical problem, or help you with a mental illness - they specialize in the biomedical approach to treating mental illness. They may use therapy like a psychologist, but this isn't what they specialize in. Psychologists and clinical psychologists are SCIENTISTS if they hold a Ph.D. (if they hold a PsyD they only focus on actual therapy, not research), but either way, they spend THEIR ENTIRE postgraduate training FOCUSing on therapies, whereas psychiatrists (medical doctors) spend a lot of their time FOCUSing on medicine (they go to medical school). The bottom line here is if you have a physical problem with your brain causing mental illness, you NEED to go to a psychiatrist or just a regular physician. If you have a behavioral problem, you can see a psychiatrist, but a psychologist (with a doctorate) has more training on the behavioral aspect. That's the bottom line. Other professionals such as therapists (maybe only with a masters or BS degree) usually focus on a specific facet like marriage & family or may focus on the same things as a psychologist with a doctorate, just not as much academic training (this doesn't mean they are not as good - experience also comes into play). Really they all overlap, but the important thing to look at is what they SPECIALIZE in. This makes the difference along with the degree they have achieved.
  3. addressed this in #1. but I think we should create psychiatry vs. psychology article.
Let me know your thoughts! Chupper 03:33, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Summaries of differences

So, a psychiatrist can help you set a broken bone, a clinical psychologist with a PhD is a SCIENTIST, and one with a PsyD is a therapist? NRPanikker 06:24, 3 December 2006 (UTC)

A psychiatrist could help you set a broken bone yes! They are medical doctors & went to medical school. Would you ever find one doing that (unless it was an emergency)? Probably not. They specialize in mental health and almost all their experience will be based in the mental health arena.
All psychologists, whether clinical, or whatever are, by definition, scientists. Whether or not they have a PhD or PsyD they are still considered scientists. A PsyD, however, is a professional doctorate and attaining the degree usually means more time spent on learning actual practice of pyschology then research. A PhD in psych is just like any other PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) and requires substantial academic research to be completed. The only big difference you'll find between psychologists who have PhDs and PsyDs is the fact that PhD psychologists have had to submit a major original contribution in their field. Other differences include where they studied (universities and colleges) and types and frequencies of types of classes taken.
It is important to remember that all pyschologists are much more than therapists. Which degree has more merit? Or which psychologist would be better in the context of type of doctorate? I would say they are equal.
Does that help? Chupper 17:47, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
"All psychologists ... are, by definition, scientists." Is that because they have an "-ology?" What about those who study anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, pathology, pharmacology, bacteriology, etc etc not to mention the various clinical subjects at medical or nursing school? Or those who have studied neuroscience and mental illness along with psychology and psychotherapy, i.e. psychiatrists and mental nurses? On the question of comparing PhD and PsyD holders, the further one gets from initial training the less important it becomes in comparison to experience. In many situations, aside from regulatory requirements, it may not even matter what field (medicine, nursing, psychology, social work ...) a professional was originally trained in. NRPanikker 08:21, 8 December 2006 (UTC)
I like NRPanikker's comments. Listen to him :). The main point I wanted to make, which I forgot to even include, was that compared with the level of experience the PhD or PsyD makes almost no difference. Even when comparing non-Dr. therapists with other Dr. therapists, you may find the level of education is not necessarily dependent on quality of therapy. Like if I had a major mental breakdown and I had to go to therapy and I only had two people I could pick from (1:A clinical psychologist 2 years out of his Ph.D. and 2:a therapist with only their masters but 30 years of therapy exp. - I would pick the master's degree :).
Why are they considered scientists? Well I'm not sure if its because of the "ology." I think they are all scientists because thats what a professor said and thats what was quoted from other articles here on Wikipedia. Maybe they are not? Chupper 15:54, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Move to delete and merge section on Cultural and religious considerations

Although this section brings up interesting issues, it doesn't fit within an article listing and describing mental health professionals. It seems arbitrary and doesn't serve to add any light to the general topic. I move to delete it from this article and merge it into Mental health. Psykhosis 17:09, 4 March 2007 (UTC)

I say go for it. Chupper 17:18, 4 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Removed section

I removed the following section on the grounds that it is outside the scope of the article. Perhaps it or something like it could be integrated into the mental health article. Psykhosis 18:55, 5 March 2007 (UTC)

Cultural and religious considerations

“ Mental health has been defined variously by scholars from different cultures. Concepts of mental health include subjective well-being, perceived self-efficacy, autonomy, competence, inter-generational dependence, and self-actualization of one's intellectual and emotional potential, among others. From a cross-cultural perspective, it is nearly impossible to define mental health comprehensively. It is, however, generally agreed that mental health is broader than a lack of mental disorders. [1] ”

Mental health is socially constructed and socially defined; that is different professions, communities, societies and cultures have very different ways of conceptualizing its nature and causes, determining what is mentally healthy, and deciding what interventions are appropriate. [2] Therefore different professionals will have different cultural and religous backgrounds and experience which may impact the methodology applied during treatment.

A holistic model of mental health generally includes concepts based upon anthropological, educational, psychological, religious and sociological perspectives as well as theoretical perspectives from personality, social, clinical, health and developmental psychology. [3][4]

Many mental health professionals are beginning to or already understand the importance of competency in religious diversity and spirituality. The American Psychological Association explicitly states that religion must be respected. Education in spiritual and religious matters is also required by the American Psychiatric Association. [5]

One example of a wellness model was developed by Myers, Sweeny and Witmer. It includes five life tasks — essence or spirituality, work and leisure, friendship, love and self-direction—and twelve sub tasks—sense of worth, sense of control, realistic beliefs, emotional awareness and coping, problem solving and creativity, sense of humor, nutrition, exercise, self care, stress management, gender identity, and cultural identity—are identified as characteristics of healthy functioning and a major component of wellness. The components provide a means of responding to the circumstances of life in a manner that promotes healthy functioning. [6]

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