Compassion | Connection | Communication

Lyndsey Osler, LMFT

Couples Therapy Blog

What are all these letters behind your name?

If you're not a therapist yourself or don't have a background in mental health it can be confusing as you search for the right therapist. Maybe you googled " Therapist in my area" or " Couples Counselor". What your search engine spits out is a list of people with various letters behind their names. You might see Sue Jones, PhD. or Joe Smith, LCSW.

Here's the tricky part, Sue and Joe both state that they work with anxiety or depression. Maybe they both say they do couples counseling. But how do you know what these letters are and how do you make sure they have the best training and expertise for your particular issue? 

Let me break it down for you: All of us therapists have to have a license to practice therapy. We are all governed by different licensing boards and have to pass various tests and courses to be "qualified" to practice therapy. We all have masters degrees and some of us have higher degrees like Doctorate degrees.

Here's where it gets interesting. Some of us have specific masters degrees that prepared us for a specific type of client and issue. For example: I have a Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy. My graduate work was focused on looking at patterns and dysfunction in relationships. We studied couples and marriages and learned theories and methods that prepared us to work with families, couples and marriages. 

Some Masters programs prepare a therapist to work more with substance abuse, individual psychopathology, or look at broader cultural issues and how these influence one's mental health.

When you are shopping around for a therapist, make sure you ask them what their Masters degree focused on and what their specific letters behind their name mean. This can help you better determine which therapist is best prepared to help you with your issues.