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From LPC To PsyD, Here's How To Make Sense Of A Therapist's Credentials

It's not always easy to find a therapist who meets your mental health needs, is taking new patients, and takes health insurance. The search process can involve some trial and error.
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It's not always easy to find a therapist who meets your mental health needs, is taking new patients, and takes health insurance. The search process can involve some trial and error.

If you look closely at a therapist’s business card, you’ll usually see a string of letters after the name — something like LPC, or maybe LCSW. Here's a quick guide to what can seem like alphabet soup. 

Those strings of letters can tell you about a provider's specialty or focus, which can be helpful if you're looking for help with a specific mental health issue. They can represent a degree, like a doctorate or a master's degree, or indicate the therapist has a license or certification to practice in a given area. And because licensing requirements vary by state, different titles exist across the country. 

Here's a quick look at some of those abbreviations:

If you see a psychiatrist, they are likely to have an M.D., a medical degree, or they may have a D.O., a doctor of osteopathic medicine. Because they are medical doctors, psychiatrists can prescribe medication, unlike most other types of therapists.

For psychologists, you may see a range of different credentials. The American Psychological Association says at a minimum, psychologists should have a doctoral degree, so you're likely to see  PhD or PsyD after a psychologist's name.

Some patients see an  LCSW, a licensed clinical social worker, or an MSW, someone with a master's degree in social work. Those professionals can be trained in psychotherapy.

Another common credential is LPC, which stands for  licensed professional counselor. These therapists are typically trained to treat and diagnose a range of mental health conditions. Other abbreviations include: 

  • CBT- Cognitive Behavioral Therapist 
  • LMHC - Licensed Mental Health Counselor 
  • DBT - Dialectical Behavior Therapist 
  • MFT - Marriage and Family Therapist 


Databases like Psychology Todaycan help you find a therapist in your area. There's also a growing number of online directories for finding therapists of color. In listings like these, patients can get a breakdown of a therapist's education and background.

Of course, there are other factors to consider. It's not always easy to find a therapist who meets your mental health needs, is taking new patients, and say, takes health insurance, so the search process can involve some trial and error. In the end, patients might not even give a passing look to that little string of letters on their therapist's business card. 

Copyright 2020 KERA. To see more, visit KERA.

Syeda Hasan is KUT's development and affordability reporter. She previously worked as a reporter at Houston Public Media covering county government, immigrant and refugee communities, homelessness and the Sandra Bland case. Her work has been heard nationally on public radio shows such as Morning Edition, All Things Considered and Marketplace.
Syeda Hasan
Syeda Hasan covers mental health for KERA News. A Houston native, her journalism career has taken her to public radio newsrooms around Texas.