Psychotherapist?

[paiger81]

Ok, what is the difference between a psychotherapist & a psychologist or psychiatrist? My internal med doc recommended a fellow who is a psycho-therapist.

According to my Insurance Co, because he is a psycho-therapist he is not on my plan, but they would be happy to give me a list of psychologists or psychiatrists.

I'm now thoroughly confused.

[biodork]

Well I know the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist is that a psychiatrist had to go to med school and can prescribe meds. No clue about the psycho-therapist though.

[paiger81]

Oh, yeah, I know the diff between the psychiatrist & psychologist, but I thought that Psychiatrists & Psychologists fell under Psycho-Therapy. Obviously I am wrong.

[biodork]

Ok I googled it and found this on depressioNet.com:

A psychotherapist is essentially anyone who practices psychotherapy (or psychological therapy). In and of itself, this title does not clearly denote any particular level of qualification or experience. For example, some psychiatrists (with medical degrees and specialised training) refer to themselves as psychotherapists, as do some counsellors (with minimal formal training). It is a fairly broad title, but more often than not is used by someone who practices from a psychoanalytic perspective

So i think your insurance company is stupid? heh

[pisces2473]

Paige, I think it has to do with their degrees. Psychotherapists have PsyD or DPsy (Doctor of Psychology) after their names (I'm pretty sure) while Psychologists have PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) in psychology. I know it seems like it's the same thing, but I guess to them it's not. But, yeah, neither can prescribe...

[biodork]

OK WTF the same site also has this:

http://www.depressionet.com.au/resources/psychs/therapydiff1.html

which has them separate

now im confused!

[paiger81]

But, yeah, neither can prescribe...

I'm not worried about meds, yet :p . Internal med doc said he doesn't feel I need to be put on meds, since I'm only having slight OCD tendencies again. But wants me to go talk to someone.

I've ended up calling this Psycho-therapist, left a message, figured I'd see how much he costs without insurance :sad: I want to go this particular doc cause my internal med guy said he thought our personalities would mesh well.

[pisces2473]

LOL, no I know you know about the med route. I was just posting for the general audience. I have to see my psychologist on Thursday and I can't wait. I love her.

Thursday will be fun--leg wax, pedicure, and therapy!

[paiger81]

Yeah, I found out my old psychiatrist-who helped me when I was first diagnosed with OCD-has since retired. I liked him, he looked like Alan Alda, and we would randomly talk about Catholicism--he's actually been to the Vatican several times. He was a fun old man.

[pisces2473]

Yeah, I found out my old psychiatrist-who helped me when I was first diagnosed with OCD-has since retired.
Um, shouldn't he have notified you?

[paiger81]

Nah, we felt I was ok to go without him over 3 years ago. I had moved to Houston about 6 months after we stopped our sessions. I don't think he could have gotten in touch with me, even if he wanted to.

[WeirdBrake]

Why are people using hyphens here? It's "psychotherapist," not "psycho-therapist." A psychotherapist is one who practices psychotherapy. A psycho-therapist is a crazy therapist. :p

[paiger81]

Oh, get over it, WB. It's my thread, I'll type it however I want :P

[lilyflower]

Why are people using hyphens here? A psycho-therapist is a crazy therapist. :p

Unfortunately, I've seen a few of THOSE as well. :p

[paiger81]

Ouch! The psycho-therapist called back. $125 bucks an hour!!! Compared to $45 if he was on insurance!!! OW!! Guess I will be picking a name off of the list afterall

[mishl982]

Ouch! The psycho-therapist called back. $125 bucks an hour!!! Compared to $45 if he was on insurance!!! OW!! Guess I will be picking a name off of the list afterall
Yikes, maybe he really is a psycho therapist? :p

[WeirdBrake]

$125 an hour?!! You'd have to be crazy to pay that much! LOL

[paiger81]

Erg! I swear I'm more stressed now than I was before!

Called my parents cause I figured I should let them know about my OCD starting to come back. Mom sounded less than thrilled, but as I've posted before I went a little psycho on everyone when I was first diagnosed. I think everybody is scared I'm gonna be that bad again. Tried to explain that I'm trying to catch this early so not to be as psycho.

Yeah, $125 is out, even though when I talked to my mom she said that was about average--my bro doesn't have insurance and pays $145/session with his shrink. She volunteered to help pay, but that is too much money for me to ask of them.

Then I started looking up names on the list. Only 1 had his own website, looked it up and thankfully he specializes in Panic Disorder. Unfortunately can't get an appt till May 13. Called my mom back to say I had an appt, and do you know what she said!!!!??? "Can you keep from going mental before then?"

Gee, thanks, mom. And we wonder why I have issues.