Who’s Who in Mental Health Care

When your mind hurts, you want to find someone who can help.
But the titles can blur together, psychologist, psychiatrist, counsellor, coach.

So here’s a simple way to see it.

A PSYCHIATRIST is a medical doctor for the mind. They diagnose, prescribe, and sometimes do therapy but mostly, they treat with medication.

A PSYCHOLOGIST studies behaviour, emotion and psychopathology. They listen, assess, and help you understand the story behind the struggle. Just patterns, insight, and change. No prescribing, but work with psychiatrists or general practitioners if medication is indicated.

A REGISTERED COUNSELLOR helps people cope before they break. They’re trained to catch distress early, stress, grief, adjustment, before it becomes a diagnosis.

A NON-REGISTERED COUNSELLOR offers compassion, not clinical care. They walk with you, not as experts, but as fellow humans who care enough to listen.

And a COACH? Coaches don’t treat pain. They build potential. They help you move from “fine” to “better,” not from “broken” to “healing.”

Mental health isn’t one-size-fits-all. Different tools. Different purposes.

The challenge is not finding someone to talk to, it’s finding the right person for what you need right now.