Psychotherapist

A psychotherapist counsels patients who suffer fear, anxiety, addiction, or other emotional/mental problems. This process involves evaluation, creating a treatment plan, providing therapy sessions, and monitoring the progress of the patient. In other words, you help patients deal with stress, anger, frustration, or intense sadness.

It is important to note that the term psychotherapist refers to a therapy style and not to a measure of education or experience. That means psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and family therapists can all claim the title of psychotherapist.

Regardless of your credentials, you provide therapy to patients. Therapy comes in many forms including group, family, or individual sessions. You might specialize in one field, or you may counsel all types of clients. In addition to talk therapy (discussing concerns and fears), you use other therapeutic tools such as hypnosis and relaxation techniques. If you have fulfilled the medical degree and testing required to become a psychiatrist or psychiatric nurse practitioner, then you can also prescribe medications to the patient as part of the therapy plan.

Through any or all of these techniques, you encourage the patient to share feelings and identify emotions. Perhaps the patient has lost a job and feels unable to get back into the swing of things. Maybe he struggles with addiction or is a victim of abuse. From mild stress management to comprehensive mental scarring, once the source of the problem is established, you teach tools that help the patient cope when symptoms reoccur.