Treatment Professionals and Therapy Definitions

Biopsychosocial: This is a model highlighting the important roles of biological, psychological, and social influences on human functioning. This is a technical term for the notion of the mind-body connection, and includes social or relational aspects as well.
 
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT): This type of therapy focuses on patterns of thinking that are maladaptive and the beliefs that underlie such thinking. Through examining one’s thoughts and beliefs, one can assess what is accurate or not. By examining, testing, and perhaps as a result changing one’s thoughts or the meaning one attributes to a situation, one can thus influence one's emotional response and behavior.
 
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT): This type of therapy combines cognitive and behavioral therapy with methodologies from various practices, most notably Eastern mindfulness/meditation techniques. It was originally developed by Marsha Linehan for treating borderline personality disorder, though the skills taught are useful for all manner of disorders and life in general. Ideally this is done through a skills training group coordinated with individual psychotherapy. The skills have to do with learning mindfulness, distress tolerance, regulating emotions and interpersonal effectiveness.
 

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): This is a method of psychotherapy originally used primarily for the treatment of trauma. Developed by Francine Shapiro, it consists of stimulating alternate sides of the brain using visual, auditory or tactile methods (such as “tappers” which vibrate in each hand like two cell phones) in the context of a specific therapeutic protocol. This seems to activate an information processing system where traumatic memories are integrated with other aspects of a person’s life, enabling a person to live in light of his/her experiences, rather than in reaction to them. In addition to studies demonstrating the effectiveness of EMDR in the treatment of trauma, some preliminary investigations have indicated that EMDR might be helpful with other disorders such as phobias, panic disorders, and body dysmorphic disorder. http://www.emdr.com

Experiential Psychotherapy: This is an umbrella term encompassing a variety of therapies such as client-centered therapy, Gestalt therapy, psychodrama, and expressive/arts therapies. Generally, the focus has to do with increasing a person’s awareness of him/herself through having an experience in the “here and now” of the session which helps that person understand the “there and then” of past experiences, present situations or anticipated concerns. This increased awareness can help an individual understand him/herself more completely, resulting in more fully informed life choices.

Interpersonal: This therapy is based on the notion that depression and other pathologies usually have an interpersonal component – i.e., it affects relationships and roles in those relationships, even if it is not caused by interpersonal events. The focus of the therapy is on interpersonal events such as disputes, changing roles, etc. that seem to be most important in the onset or maintenance of the presenting problem. It has been shown to be similar in effectiveness to cognitive behavioral therapy for treatment of bulimia nervosa.

Psychodynamic: Similar to psychoanalysis in that the main idea is that the person has unconscious feelings which are too painful to experience directly and thus the individual has created defenses to shield him/herself against them. These defenses might work for a while but eventually create problems themselves. Psychodynamic psychotherapy seeks to understand the unconscious in a more direct way. It differs from psychoanalysis in a few ways, the most immediately noticeable being that meetings are typically once a week as opposed to more often, and generally are conducted face-to-face rather than lying on a couch.

Treatment Professionals: A guide to acronyms

Doctoral-Level Psychologists
These degrees can be licensed as psychologists in the state of Tennessee. Psychologists differ from psychiatrists in that a psychiatrist is an MD, who went to medical school and then specialized in psychiatry during residency, in the same way other MDs specialize in emergency medicine, OB/GYN, pediatrics, ear-nose-throat, etc. Psychiatrists can prescribe medicine, as can nurse practitioners. They typically do not have extensive training in psychotherapy.

  1. Ph.D.: Doctor of Philosophy. This usually means doctor of philosophy of psychology. The training is a doctoral degree with an emphasis on doing both clinical work and research. A dissertation comprised of original research is required for this degree.
  2. Psy.D.: Doctor of Psychology. This training is very similar to the PhD., however with more emphasis on clinical work and less emphasis on research. The doctoral candidate can complete either a dissertation (original research) or has the option to do a comprehensive review of the research literature on a given topic instead.
  3. Ed.D.: Doctor of Education. This degree is granted by a Graduate School of Education, usually for completing a counseling psychology course of study. The emphasis is typically on counseling and teaching. A dissertation comprised of original research is required for this degree.

Masters-Level Therapists

  1. MSSW: Masters of Science in Social Work. This is a master's degree in social work with a clinical emphasis beyond the general knowledge at the bachelor's level.
  2. CMSW: Certified Master Social Worker. This certification is applied for and granted through the state licensing board to people whose master's degree program is accredited through the Council on Social Work Education. The CMSW is a requirement for individuals wanting to work towards TN state licensure as an LCSW. A CMSW must be supervised by a licensed individual to provide services to clients.
  3. LCSW: Licensed Clinical Social Worker. CMSWs obtain this degree after completing the licensure program, which includes 2,000 hours of supervised clinical practice and written examination. LCSWs can operate a private, independent practice and do not require the supervision of another professional.
  4. LMFT: Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. The training is a master’s degree along with supervised clinical experience and written examination. Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist is a master's degree which includes additional training in family system dynamics. LMFTs complete 2000 hours of supervised clinical experience and must pass a written and oral examination. LMFTs can operate a private, independent practice and do not require the supervision of another professional.
  5. LPC: Licensed Professional Counselor. The training is a master’s degree in counseling or a closely related field, as well as supervised experience, as well as a written examination. Those with the acronym LMHC or Licensed Mental Health Counselor have also qualified through an additional examination.

Another overview of credentials people might run into can be found at: http://psychologytoday.com/pto/credentials.html