Terms That Are Often Confusing
Couples Therapy
is a counseling procedure that seeks to improve the adjustment of two people who have created an interdependent relationship.
There are no standard procedures to help two people improve their adjustments to each other. Generally, a more experienced
therapist will offer more perspectives and tools to a couple. Length of treatment will depend on severity of problems, motivation
and skills of the therapist. A couple can be dating, living together, married or separating and may be gay, lesbian or
heterosexual.
Marriage Therapy
is a term often used interchangeably with marriage counseling. The term marriage
implies two people have created a union sanctioned by a government or religious institution. The methods used in marriage
counseling, marriage therapy and couples therapy are interchangeable and depend more on the specific challenges of each unique
couple.
Psychotherapy
is one or more processes to help improve psychological and emotional
functioning. Examples are psychoanalysis, cognitive therapy, behavior therapy, Gestalt therapy, Transactional Analysis, Rational-Emotive
therapy, or group therapy. Many forms of psychotherapy are blends of different approaches. For example, newer forms of psychotherapy
called energy psychology draw upon recent advances in brain and neuroscience. These approaches often build on cognitive behavioral
methods.
Clinical Psychologist.
After
graduating from college, it usually takes about five years of graduate school to get a Ph.D. in Psycholgy. It then requires
an additional two years of supervision and passing a written (and often) an oral exam. There are a few states that allow psychologists
to prescribe medications (with additional training) but that is uncommon.
Psychiatrist.
After graduation from medical school, there is a generally a 4-year psychiatric
residency. After the completion of this training, psychiatrists must pass an exam issued by the American Board of Psychiatry
and Neurology to obtain certification and legally practice in the field. Psychiatrists can prescribe medications.
Clinical Social Worker.
This profession usually requires two years of study after obtaining an undergraduate degree. While specific licensure
requirements vary by state, most require clinical social workers to obtain 3,000 hours or 2 years of supervised clinical experience,
after obtaining a Masters degree. Social workers can also specialize in diverse fields such as human services management,
social welfare analysis, community organizing, social and community development, and social and political research.
Marriage and Family Therapist.
Obtaining this license requires a Masters degree which takes approximately two years of post graduate
study. The license also requires 3000 hours of supervised work and passing a written and an oral examination.
E M D R (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprossessing).
This
is a type of therapy. It is also sometimes referred to as "bi-lateral stimulation" therapy, as the protocal that
used eye movements can be replaced with several other simple theraputic techniques. It is designed to help clients access
and heal old painful memories. Originally used to help with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, it has been found effective in
treating a variety of psychological and emotional issues. It has the advantage, over many talk therapies, of often being able
to bring positive results in only a few sessions. Therapists who use this theraputic approach are required to take
advanced training. There are Level One and Level Two (more advanced) practicioners.
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The Center has helped people
throughout the San Francisco
Bay
Area since 1994.
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Center for Creative Living (925) 855-1745
199 East Linda Mesa, Suite 4Danville, California 94526 (925) 855-1745
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