Defining Each Field
Information Sources:
Great Jobs for Psychology Majors, Julie DeGalan and Stephen Lambert, 2001, VGM Career Books.
Opportunities in Social Work Careers, Renee Wittenberg, 2003, VGM Career Books.
Careers in Social Work, Leon Ginsberg, 1998, Allyn and Bacon.
Texas State Board of Examiners of Marriage and Family Therapists
The mental health profession is generally an open marketplace for licensed professionals who have gained experience working with a particular population. At the same time, there are slight distinctions between the academic fields that prepare students for the profession. These distinctions become less clear in the workplace, where clinical social workers, psychologist and LPCs might do the same work.
Counseling
The field of counseling prepares and trains counselors to help people with personal, family, educational, and career issues through individual, couples, family, or group therapy. The term "counseling" is used in both psychology and social work to refer to those who provide therapy to clients. However, it is also a distinct profession and field of graduate study. In general, counselors don’t focus on research and testing as much as psychologists do. Compared with social workers, the field of counseling is more concerned with individual development than with social systems and conditions.
Marriage and Family Therapy
The field of marriage and family trains therapists to utilize family systems theories and techniques in order to provide therapy to individuals, families and couples. The marriage and family therapist is involved in the evaluation and remediation of cognitive, affective, behavioral, or relational dysfunction within the context of marriage or family systems. While other clinicians, such as clinical social workers or counselors, are licensed to provide couples or family therapy also, a marriage and family graduate program focuses more exclusively on this population and theoretical orientation.
Psychology
Psychology is the study of human mental processes and behavior. A major emphasis of most psychology programs is on research. Psychology is an extremely diverse field covering everything from neuroscience to school psychology. One of the largest applied branches of psychology is clinical psychology, whose practitioners provide psychotherapy to clients, administer psychological assessments, and diagnose client disorders. Clinical psychologists are currently lobbying in some states to take on the role of prescribing medication, which has historically been reserved as the domain of psychiatrists and other physicians.
Social Work
Social workers tend to work with clients disadvantaged by poverty or oppression. The social work profession is dedicated to helping people resolve problems in their daily lives. This may include direct help in the form of counseling and referral to resources or advocacy to improve social or economic conditions. The social work profession emphasizes social justice and advocacy issues and works to change both individuals and the systems that affect them. However, social work can overlap with psychology and counseling because many social workers choose to provide therapy in a private practice setting.