Both counsellors and psychologists have been trained to help you address personal problems and understand your emotions and behaviour.
THE THEORY BEHIND TWO HELPING PROFESSIONS
When undergoing counselling, clients won’t be put on a mental health treatment plan or diagnosed with a mental health condition—instead, a counsellor provides the space a client needs to talk about and process their issues.
Psychology deals with more complex mental health issues such as bipolar disorder, panic disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It focuses on the science behind human emotions and behaviours and is used to diagnose and treat issues that prevent clients from having a high quality of life.
TRAINING
Psychologists have special training in diagnosis and assessment, and they tend to support people with more severe mental health problems. Generally, the training for registered psychologists is extensive and takes at least six years of study.
Counsellors don’t tend to do diagnosis or assessment, but they will support people with mild to moderate symptoms of mental illness. A trained counsellor has usually studied counselling, and psychotherapy for 1 to 6 years.
The training in counselling is very practical, while the training for psychologists covers a lot of assessment and diagnosis theory.
THE REALITY BEHIND THE THEORY
In theory, we have differences between counsellors and psychologists where, for example, psychologists use methods such as CBT to help people better manage their mental health. However, in real life, some counsellors may use these methods too and might be professionally trained in modalities such as CBT, EMDR, ACT, ISF, etc
Every therapist is different and has different reasons behind the choice of becoming a therapist. The study and training required for each profession are not the only training counsellors and psychologists most likely have done. The most important are their area of particular interest, their living experience, and the specific modality they emphasize in therapy with their clients.
FEES
However, the fees that psychologists charge vary, and depend on the type of service being offered and the setting in which they work. The Australian Psychological Society recommends a fee of $300 for a 45-60 minute session. From my experience, I see on average a fee of $220 for a 50-minute session with a general psychologist in Australia and a fee of $260 for a 50-minute session with a clinical psychologist.
If you have a Medicare Mental Health Care Plan from your GP or Psychiatrist, you will be entitled to a rebate of $92.90 for a General Psychologist or $136.35 for a Clinical Psychologist per session. So it’ll reduce the costs for your sessions with a psychologist and one session with a general psychologist will cost you approximately $129 out of pocket.
If we want to look at counsellors and find out the cost of their services the results of survey conducted by PACFA will be extremely useful. The most commonly reported (46%) counselling and psychotherapy fees were between $100-$160 per hour in 2021. In Australia, counselling services are not covered by Medicare today, which means that you’ll most likely pay the cost of a counselling session out of pocket.
I believe that therapy changes lives and wish more people could access therapy, so I keep my services affordable: a fee of $90 for a 55-minute session online or in person in Melbourne.
Couples and family therapy are often slightly more expensive, as the number of clients per session can raise the hourly rate for both psychologists and counsellors.
WHO SHOULD I CHOOSE?
Money-wise, counselling fees are often less than the “gap” charged by a psychologist, even with a rebate.
The big benefit of counselling as an affordable therapy is that the fees you pay will remain the same after 10 sessions while you will need to pay full fees out of pocket for a psychologist once you’ve used 10 sessions. Quite often if people found the therapist they were comfortable and happy with, they would proceed with more than 10 sessions. In this case, seeing a psychologist after using a Mental Health Treatment Plan (MHTPs) and paying a fee of $220 for each session becomes pricy.
As I mentioned above the most important aspect of choosing a therapist should be the area of specialization and the modality the therapist working with. For example, if you are seeking a therapist who can help with PTSD, would be logical to check for a therapist who has been trained in EMDR and has an interest in treating clients with PTSD and complex PTSD.
Another important factor to consider is the living experience of a therapist, many of my clients come to my practice because I have a living experience of stillbirth (perinatal loss) and a special interest in perinatal support: before, during, and after pregnancy. I specialized in Couple Counselling and Pregnancy support counselling.
THE MAIN QUESTIONS TO ASK
1) Do I feel comfortable with this person?
2) Can I trust the therapist?
3) Would I describe the therapist as warm and compassionate, but willing to challenge me when necessary?
A good fit matters quite a lot in psychotherapy. So trust your gut, mind, and heart when you are choosing a therapist. Book your session today at AA Therapy with the same-week availability and affordable fees.