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Why do people say Counsellors and Psychotherapists are the same?

What I don't understand is that in order to be a Child Psychotherapist, you need pre-clinical training (two years) followed by a 3/4 year Doctorate.

...So why are so many people saying they're Psychotherapists with just a Counselling diploma?

I'm assuming this is allowed as I see this across practising 'Psychotherapist' sites.

I suppose my question is, if this is in fact the case then do I not need to take a Doctorate after all?
'Counsellor' and 'Psychotherapist' are generic titled and not protected by law (unlike Psychiatrist or Clinical Psychologist). As a consequence many people claim those titles at varying levels of training.

In fact 'psychotherapist' is a very broad term (like teacher, which could mean a lot of thing as well as a specific role) and can include psychodynamic therapists, systemic therapist, counsellors, psychologists, CBT therapists and so on. However the type of Adult Psychotherapist you are talking about, and that is employed by the NHS, is a specific role and requires the more extensive training. It is confusing and employers do not see them as the same, but again it is not a protected title and both a role and a general descriptor.

It's up to you if you want to do the full training or not, but if you want to work in the NHS or any organisation that is worth it's salt then you will need to.
Original post by Lord Asriel
'Counsellor' and 'Psychotherapist' are generic titled and not protected by law (unlike Psychiatrist or Clinical Psychologist). As a consequence many people claim those titles at varying levels of training.

In fact 'psychotherapist' is a very broad term (like teacher, which could mean a lot of thing as well as a specific role) and can include psychodynamic therapists, systemic therapist, counsellors, psychologists, CBT therapists and so on. However the type of Adult Psychotherapist you are talking about, and that is employed by the NHS, is a specific role and requires the more extensive training. It is confusing and employers do not see them as the same, but again it is not a protected title and both a role and a general descriptor.

It's up to you if you want to do the full training or not, but if you want to work in the NHS or any organisation that is worth it's salt then you will need to.

This is so helpful, thank you for taking the time to reply to my question! I'm surprised Psychotherapist isn't protected as there are Doctorates.

Decided the Psychologist path is definitely for me after a momentary panic about what direction I was heading in but this is helpful to know. Hoping I can do some post-qualification training so that I can offer psychotherapy further down the line.

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