Jargon buster - helping you understand different types of professionals

  • Psychologists come in many forms (Clinical Psychologists, Counselling Psychlogists, Educational Psychologists, Forensic Psychologists). In general terms, "psychologist" is a protected title that should not be used without the appropriate training. Psychologists are governed by the Health and Care Proffessionals Council (HCPC) and membership can be verified on thier register. Psychologists generally have doctoral level training and a broad based training in several models of therapy as well as psychopathy, development and neuroscience.

  • Counselling is a talking therapy that involves a trained therapist listening to you and helping you find ways to deal with emotional issues. Sometimes the term "counselling" is used to refer to talking therapies in general, but counselling is also a type of therapy in its own right. Counselling is suitable for individuals looking for help to process difficult life events (divorce, bereavement, change etc) or are experiencing feelings of sadness, anger or worry.

  • Psychotherapy is similar to counseling, and the two can overlap. However, the former tends to look more deeply, addressing the underlying causes of a person’s problems as well as how to solve them. Often a psychotherapist is trained in a model of therapy beyond "person centred counselling". For example, a gestalt therapist offers psychotherapy drawing upon thier training in this model.

  • Item descriptionA Speech and language therapist (SALT) offers support to individuals who have difficulties with communication, or with eating, drinking and swallowing. Speech and language therapists (SLTs) are qualified in Speech and language Therapy, so whilst they often work alongside psychologists and psychiatrists, their approach differs.

  • Occupational therapists (OT's) are professionals that use assessment and intervention to develop, recover, or maintain the meaningful activities, or occupations, of individuals, groups, or communities. OT's often work with people with difficulties with motor skills or sensory integration issues. Often OT's do sensory assessments for neurodiverse individuals.

  • Dietitians specialise in the science of nutrition and advise people on their food and nutrition choices.

  • Psychiatry is a medical field concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mental health conditions. A medical doctor who works in psychiatry is called a psychiatrist. Unlike other mental health professionals, such as psychologists and counsellors, psychiatrists must be medically qualified doctors who have chosen to specialise in psychiatry. This means they can prescribe medication as well as recommend other forms of treatment.

  • A nurse prescriber is also able to prescribe medication, with trusted links to other professionals. They can be a more affordable alternative to a psychiatrist in some circumstances.

Models of pyschologoical therapy

  • Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a talking therapy that can help you manage your problems by changing the way you think and behave. It's most commonly used to treat anxiety and depression, but can be useful for other mental and physical health problems. CBT is based on the concept that your thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and actions are interconnected, and that negative thoughts and fee.

  • f a psychologist says they work "interagratively" (as many of our team do) it means that they have broad-based training in a range of therapies and will tailor the approach to what will suit you best. Bespoke treatment will reflect your preference for session style as well as the evidence base and recommendations for working with the particular problem you bring to therapy.

  • Gestalt is a German word. The closest translation is "whole", "pattern" or "form". It has the sense that meaning cannot be found from breaking things down into parts but rather from appreciation of the whole. In other words, Gestalt is a holistic process. It regards the individual as a totality of mind, body, emotions and spirit who experiences reality in a way unique to themselves.

  • EMDR is a talking therapy that's been developed to help people who have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). People who have PTSD may experience intrusive thoughts, memories, nightmares or flashbacks of traumatic events in their past. EMDR helps the brain reprocess memories of the traumatic event so the negative images, emotions and physical feelings they cause have less impact.