What is the difference between Counseling Psychologist and a Clinical Psychologist?

	What is the difference between Counseling Psychologist and a Clinical Psychologist? After I'm done with college, in general a two year college and I want to be a counseling psychologist, after the two years what do I do? Do I go to a four year university? And after the four year university, do I have to get into a counseling psychologist program? How many years does this career takes? Asked By: HeyHey ! - 8/2/2012

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Ok, There seems to be a lot of confusion about this topic judging by some of the questions I've been reading, but here's the deal: First of all, there is a big difference between being a counselor, and being a psychologist in terms of years of study. It doesn't matter what word you throw in front of it, a psychologist is a person who has earned their doctorate in some form of psychology and has completed a clinical practicum. If you want to be a psychologist, you most definitely have to complete your bachelor's degree first, then get accepted into a doctorate program. You can enter a Psy.D. program, which is strictly clinical work or you can complete a Ph.D., which is a combination of clinical and research work. Both degrees will earn you the title of a psychologist if you successfully complete all the requirements. This typically takes between 5-7 years once you have been accepted into graduate school, but this can vary depending on your individual circumstances. Now, to clarify what exactly "clinical" is, that is referring to providing services to the client, NOT giving out medications. A clinical psychologist DOES provide counseling services. A psychologist is not qualified to prescribe medications, this is the job of a psychiatrist, who has gone through medical school and spends significantly less time with the client. Now, if your goal is to simply provide counseling to people, you don't have to be a psychologist to do this. You can get become a counselor with a master's degree, which usually takes 2 years. As part of the degree requirements, you also have to complete a clinical practicum at the master's level, as well as pass the licensing exam. If you don't want to be in school that long, you CAN find jobs as a counselor that only require a bachelor's degree, but these are harder to come by and the pay is not as good. You can get a master's degree in Counseling Psychology, but you don't have to have that specific major in order to counsel people. There are a lot of benefits to going all the way and obtaining your Psy.D. or Ph.D. and becoming a full-fledged psychologist, but that decision is yours to make. I hope this information helps. Good luck with everything. Answered By: SJ - 8/2/2012

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Usually and this can vary Counselling Psychologist do brief talk therapy with clients. Clinical Psychologist's have a specialist qualification in mental health usually a Master's degree in mental health so most could find them-self in a psych hospital diagnosing and helping disturbed folk get better and become happier and doing rehabilitation for substance misuse clients. The definitions and words they use to describe and diagnose people are changing when the DSM V gets released, in 2013 then instead of some crummy label. Words like 'Survivor and Client' will be used instead, the reason the stigmatizing effect of labels that sometimes describe clients in less than optimum terms. Good Luck. Best Wishes. Mars Mission Soon In A Galaxy Near Yours.. Source(s): Studies & Client.. Answered By: Mars Mission - 8/2/2012

Well the 2 year college i'm not sure why you're doing that. but yeah you should transfer to a 4 year college. then you will need at least a masters degree, or a doctorate - ph.d or psy.d. but you can do pretty well with masters of social work. or sometimes just a general "counseling" program. clinical would definitely focus more on dealing with people in a ... clinical setting. like a clinic or even in patient psychiatric care. also i think a pretty good amount of research is involved in clinical psychology. counseling is more so along the lines of just counseling. which i think usually entails a psy.d and not ph.d. Answered By: Chiron Babe - 8/2/2012

Yes you need to go to a 4 yr uni and major in psychology. You should only take 2 years to finish additional coursework to complete the requirements for a BA (or BS) in Psych. If you plan on going to graduate school, that's where you make the choice b/t counseling & clinical. It's kind of hard to get anything with a MA in clinical so you'd have to get the doctoral degree. I've heard of a MA in counseling but try to go for that doctoral. Go to the uni's website & look at their Graduate Programs to make sure they even have what you want. From there, you can see what courses are needed & figure out how long you'd take.. roughly. counseling: talk things out, dish out advice, try to give them a different perspective. This could be marriage counseling for example. another ex is positive therapy where you try to instill a positive outlook on life in them. clinical: im going to find something abnormally wrong with you, diagnose you with a mental illness that you most likely don't have, and then prescribe you some medication that will only mask your symptoms, need for the rest of your life, and/or become addicted to. Please talk to your advisors at the Uni you want to go to, though. Ask them to make a timeline of classes for you to take so you get an idea of how long. Cheers. Source(s): BA in Psychology going for either a MA in School Psychology or Neuroscience. Answered By: sadiya jaan - 8/2/2012

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	What is the difference between counselling and clinical psychology? What is the difference between counselling and clinical psychology? Also, how would a counselling psychologist's job differ from a clinical psychologist? Thanks for answering. 1 answer - Asked By: Wondering - 10/26/2008

	Do Counseling Psychologists make good money? How much do they usually work in a week? I'm about to be a freshmen in high school, and was looking into jobs. I am interested in becoming a Counseling Psychologist and maybe taking online college courses for this carrer, but I am still researching about this position. I know it is alot of training so I want to know if it is worth my time before commiting to this carrer choice. Please provide as much information as possible on this job and your advice if you have this job. 1 answer - Asked By: Tay Tayy - 7/25/2010

	Between a school counselor/counseling psychologist which is the better career choice? I know most of the details as far as the education requirements and pay are concerned. my main concern is the job outlooks for both. is a person with a major in school counseling able to get a job just as well as a person who is a licensed counseling psychologist? or is obtaining only the masters in school counseling a waste of time? any help would be appreciated. advice from people who have experienced this is even better! thank you! 3 answers - Asked By: lala - 9/25/2012


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