In order to help our clients, and also to have a deeper understanding of ourselves as mental health counselors, it is necessary to understand the various types of mental health helpers.
Often when our clients come to see us they can’t distinguish us from other types of professionals who address mental health issues. There is a lot of confusion out there! It is up to us to educate them so that they can be assured they are seeking the appropriate help. In addition, we really should understand and appreciate how other types of mental health professionals have contributed to our field.
There are subtle, but important differences, between various types of mental health helpers. There are three other main types besides counseling: social work, psychology, and psychiatry. Each type has its own philosophical roots, and therefore views the human condition through slightly different lenses.
Social Work
Social work was initially aimed at working with the poor and destitute in the 1800s, when there was a movement to be more humane. Social workers also place a lot of emphasis on systems, and believe that individuals are a product of the systems in which they operate. It is interesting to note that much of the work that marriage and family therapists do currently is based on the early philosophical roots of social work. Although social workers recognize individual mental disorders, they tend to view those disorders as a product of family and social systems. Therefore, it follows that advocacy would be a central tenant of social work. This early emphasis on social justice has helped to shape the current trend toward social justice for mental health counselors.
Psychology
Psychology has early roots, beginning all the way back to Greek philosophers in the seventh century. As time marched on, psychology was increasingly influenced by science, including modern medicine. A natural outgrowth of this was the development of psychological and educational testing, with one of the first intelligence tests developed by Alfred Binet to properly place mentally challenged children in the educational system.
Today, there are experimental psychologists, who mostly do research, and clinical psychologists, who perform testing and some counseling.
Psychology was really the first comprehensive paradigm for human behavior. As such, it has had a tremendous impact on the mental health counseling field. In addition, it’s scientifically based research methods are still used today to study the efficacy of counseling techniques.
Psychiatry
Philippe Pinel was credited as the earliest founder of psychiatry. (Not Sigmund Freud). In the late 1700s, Pinel removed the chains that bound two inmates, and when he did that he also freed the human race. Rather than view psychological problems as possession by demons, Pinel took a more humane approach. Since then, many developments have been made, including classifications of mental illnesses.
By the 1950s the development of psychotropic medication and the subsequent new-found ability of those to be able to live independently in society fueled the biological impetus of psychiatry. Today, psychiatrists generally believe mental disorders to be biologically based.
Therefore, psychiatry’s contributions to the counseling field include psychopharmacology and diagnostic criteria for mental disorders.
Yours in the Joy of Knowledge,
Barbara LoFrisco
