Except where indicated, all of the helping professionals listed below are required to hold a Master’s degree. However, keep in mind that the licensure laws in North Carolina for these credentials are no more than a few years old, and so many helping professionals have grandfathered into the license or credential by virtue of their years of experience, often without meeting the educational requirements. I recommend you seek a helping professional who holds a Master’s degree in the helping professions as well as the appropriate credential or license so as to assure that they have had the proper education and training.

Marriage and Family Therapists are licensed in NC (LMFT), and have been trained to provide assistance to couples, families, and individuals from a family systems perspective, a powerful way of helping that is distinct from other fields. Not all LMFT’s have been sufficiently schooled in marital counseling, which for many is still a separate field, and so many good marital counselors are not LMFT’s. To find a Marriage and Family Therapist, look in Yellow Pages under, "Marriage, Family, Child, & Individual Counselors".

Professional Counselors are licensed in NC (LPC), and are trained to offer counseling for a wide variety of concerns. LPC’s are mental health professionals who provide assessments, counseling, and other psychotherapeutic services, and many have expertise in one or more particular areas. Many LPC’s in NC work as counselors in educational settings. To find a Professional Counselor, look in Yellow Pages under, "Marriage, Family, Child, & Individual Counselors", and under, "Counselors".

Social Workers are certified in NC (CCSW - functional equivalent to licensure), and are trained to work in a variety of mental health settings. Many traditional MSW programs have limited counseling education, focusing instead on competencies in the wider public helping systems. Sufficient training and experience in counseling often must be gained outside of the program. To find a Social Worker, look in Yellow Pages under, "Marriage, Family, Child, & Individual Counselors", and under, "Social Workers".

Substance Abuse Counselors are certified in NC (CSAC), and offer help in the field of addictions. The CSAC requires no formal education beyond high school, but many CSAC’s hold higher degrees. North Carolina just passed a Master’s level substance abuse credential, called a Certified Clinical Addictions Specialist (CCAS). Many current CSAC’s are grandfathering into the CCAS without having to earn a Master’s degree. Look for the Master Addictions Counselor credential (MAC), a national Master’s level certification offered by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC). To find a Substance Abuse Counselor, look in the Yellow Pages under, "Drug Abuse", and, "Alcohol Information".

Psychologists are trained at the Doctoral level, and often have achieved expertise in testing. Most docotoral programs in psychology provide training in research and teaching in preparation for an academic career in a university. Most Psychologists who have chosen to provide counseling and therapy must receive relevant training after completing their academic program. To find a Psychologist, look in the Yellow Pages under, "Psychologists".

Psychiatrists are medical doctors (M.D.) who have studied mental disorders and abnormal psychology. Most have expertise in the physiology of the brain, and therefore are trained to provide psychiatric assessments including the need for and monitoring of medications. Like psychologist, psychiatrists generally are not trained to provide counseling and therapy in their programs, and often must receive this training after completion of their academic program. To find a Psychiatrist, look in the Yellow Pages under, "Physicians & Surgeons - Psychiatry".

Psychotherapists refers to a general category of helping professionals from a wide variety of disciplines, and provide counseling and therapy according to their training and experience. The term psychotherapy has been used to describe a process of helping that targets more global, long-term changes in a person's personality and behavior beyond the resolution of current difficulties or the relief of immediate symptoms. The term Psychotherapy has been used in the past to distinguish it from a more common form of therapy know as psychoanalysis, which was utilized widely from the time of Freud, its originator, until the 50’s and especially the 60’s. Since that time, a plethora of counseling strategies have been developed and become popular. Today, psychoanalysis is not so common, and psychotherapy has lost some of its distinction from other forms of short term counseling and therapy, as those who call themselves psychotherapists provide a wider variety of helping services. To find a Psychotherapist, look in the Yellow Pages under, "Psychotherapists".

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