Choosing a Mental Health Provider

We have all heard of life coaches, professional counselors, licensed social workers, and marriage-family therapists, but which is the one for you? Well, let's start off with some information about credentials. Clinical psychologists, LMFTs (Licensed marriage family therapists), LPCs (licensed professional counselors), and LCSWs (licensed clinical social workers), all undergo a masters program and immense licensing procedures to ensure they are not only well trained but also accountable to a licensing board. This is important because if something occurs that feels unethical to you, you have a licensing board that you can report the incident to. These licensing boards ensure that the mental health practitioner is abiding by many lists of ethics and rules that require quality care and accountability. Of course, this can limit a practitioner in some ways, but it is rare for a clinician to feel restricted by these ethics and rules. A life coach, relationship coach, or wellness coach requires no training and is accountable to no licensing board or anyone for that matter. This can give the coach free range to experiment with all different types of interventions and advice that therapists cannot. For some people, this is a great option, especially if they want more consistent attention from the provider. The main issue is if something goes wrong and the coach makes you feel uncomfortable or does something unethical, they are accountable to no one. It doesn’t hurt to mention again that they also require zero training to obtain the title of a coach. This can lead to less trauma-informed care, less empirically backed interventions, and misuse of power. All of these things can occur with licensed therapists as well, but it may be less due to their extensive training and clinical supervision. If something problematic does occur with a licensed therapist, they are accountable to a board and their license can always be revoked. When seeing a mental health practitioner, it's helpful to know your rights as a client and what kind of care you're looking for. Using multiple practitioners for different issues is also a great option, especially if you're looking to resolve certain traumas. Many clients have felt that talk therapy isn't enough which is why they may turn to coaching. In this case seeing a practitioner that may be more somatically oriented, and trained in EMDR or IFS could be a great option. Even using a licensed therapist in conjunction with coaching is another great way to have your needs met by many practitioners.

Now we can talk about the different licensed credentials! It may also be confusing to try to differentiate between the letters at the end of each practitioner’s name and what that means.

Let’s start with LPC (licensed professional counselor).

LPCs obtain a master’s degree with many years of supervision. LPCs are generally educated in working with individuals who are coming to therapy to work through things they would like to resolve on their own. LPCs are great support systems for clients who are interested in individual work.

When to see an LPC- when you're looking for skills, coping strategies, and specific care that the practitioner may offer (ex: EMDR, biofeedback).

LCSW (licensed clinical social worker). LCSWs also have a master’s degree with a general history in community mental health. These practitioners are generally well-trained in empirically backed theories, CBT, DBT, ACT, and other theories. Generally, LCSWs are trained in individual work with an awareness of systems that could be interfering with a client’s access to mental healthcare and healing.

When to see an LCSW- when you’re looking for a more behavioral change approach of therapy.

LMFT (licensed marriage, couples, and family therapist) LMFTs have more of a unique and rebellious history in the mental health world due to their contributions to the field that occur in family, couples, or social systems. LMFTs are extensively trained in systems and relationships. Relational dynamics are an inherent part of our everyday life and even when doing work with an individual, an LMFT is trained to use interventions that symbolically bring in other people or systems with the individual. These practitioners are the most qualified to do couples, marriage, and family work due to their extensive training in relational theory. They also have a unique and maybe more holistic way of treating individuals due to this systemic and relational perspective.

When to see an LMFT: I would say ANYTIME because I am a bit biased toward this credential! Generally, I would recommend prioritizing an LMFT when you want to work with a partner(s), family member, friend, or child. I would also say the individual work they do can be more transformational due to their unique perspective on systemic healing.

Of course, therapists and life coaches all undergo similar barriers to a great education and continuous education courses, but these things might influence the quality of care you might be receiving. If a therapist or coach isn't continuously working to improve their knowledge of the marginalizations of modern society, they could be insensitive or just not resonate with a client. Studies have suggested If a client believes they are more educated than their therapist they will lose interest in the practice and struggle to continue treatment. We as clinicians do not want you to settle for a Mental health practitioner that doesn’t resonate with you or is struggling to meet your needs. We work for YOU and your healing is always our priority. That being said, therapists are human beings too and may also rub up against some of your issues, or just you as a person. The best thing to do if this is being felt is to ask for a recommendation from someone who might suit you better. There’s another blog post for combatting this discomfort.

I hope you found this helpful and I sincerely hope your search for a mental health provider feels more concise after reading this!