LPC, LMFT, PhD and more:  Decoding credentials to find a good therapist in Athens

Finding a therapist can feel like a struggle.

There’s insurance to sort out, maybe, or trying to find someone nearby that won’t cost you a two-hour commute getting out to their office.

Some therapists only do telehealth and you want to meet in person.  Or some are booking two months out and you need to be seen quickly.

It can be quite a puzzle.

As someone who has done quite a bit of her own therapy, I sympathize.  I’ve been through the process myself many times!

So, I’m writing this for you, to help simplify the process and help you understand your options a little bit better.  This post is designed to help you find a good therapist in Athens, GA (or wherever you might be, but some of the information here will be specific to counseling in Athens, GA).

Let’s say that you’ve found a couple of therapists you could work with.

You haven’t met any of them yet, but their bios look promising.  So far, so good.  But while they’re all therapists, they all have different letters after their names.

Since you’re going to be spilling your guts to a stranger and paying them for the privilege, you want to make sure you’re talking to the right person!  Therapy is a big investment, after all.

So let’s decode what those letters mean, so you can make an informed choice in how to choose the best therapist for you.

PhD, LPC, LMFT, PsyD… the letters after a therapist’s name can read like a confusing spoonful of alphabet soup.  What do they all mean?  Let’s dig in.

A therapist’s degree

This is the degree someone earned when studying to become a therapist in graduate school. 

Most commonly, you’ll see MA (Master of Arts), PhD (Doctorate of Philosophy), MS (Master of Science), or PsyD (Doctorate of Psychology).

People who have an MA or MS generally have 2-3 years of schooling with a primary focus on becoming therapists and informed consumers of clinical research.

Psychologists (both PhD and PsyD) generally have between 5-7 years of schooling.

They are trained to do three things:  research, teach, and counseling.  There’s a particular focus on academia and research in PhD programs and teaching and clinical practice in PsyD programs.

As always, the culture of each training program can be different.  Once they graduate, a therapist receives a degree from the graduate school they attended.

Taking my name as an example:  Ann Stoneson, MS, LPC-S

The MS refers to Master of Science in Clinical Psychology.

A therapist’s license

After going to school, a therapist must take a licensing exam and complete additional years of practice while receiving supervision from a more experienced therapist.

In Georgia, common licenses to independently practice therapy include

LPC (licensed professional counselor),

LMFT (licensed marriage and family therapist),

LCSW (licensed clinical social worker), and

PhD or PsyD (psychologist).

If a therapist is still under supervision, you may see slightly different letters to those seen above, such as APC (associate professional counselor), LMSW (licensed master social worker), or AMFT (associate marriage and family therapist).

Taking my name as an example:  Ann Stoneson, MS, LPC-S

The LPC-S refers to licensed professional counselor (and supervisor, in the state of Texas).

Specialized post-graduate training

Many therapists get additional training beyond what they learn in graduate school.

What these letters represent can vary widely, from a training that can be done in a weekend, to a 40 hour, week-long stint, to programs that can span years of additional study and clinical practice.

Common examples of post-graduate and post-internship clinical specializations include

RPT (registered play therapist),

EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing),

IFS (internal family systems),

TBRI (trust-based relational intervention),

SEP (somatic experiencing practitioner),

and more.

So many letters—how to choose?

I realize that going over all of these details may leave you feeling more confused than anything.  It’s like looking at the world’s longest menu when you’re already starving.  How to pick and just get started?

What if I told you that, in most cases, a therapist’s credentials and training are not the most important thing to consider when searching for a therapist?

Yes, that’s right.  Even with all the time we spent just now reviewing what all those letters mean, it’s not really the biggest factor to consider in most cases.  But, people are understandably confused about all the options and want clarification, which is why I’ve written this post.

Here’s some good news:  research shows that the strength of the therapeutic relationship is one of the biggest factors for success in therapy.

How is the therapeutic relationship measured?  It comes down to three important factors:

+ how much you trust and like your therapist (eg, do you generally get along with your therapist, feel well understood by them, etc)

+ do you and your therapist agree on the tasks of therapy (eg, the session-to-session topics and therapeutic methods/style)

+ do you and your therapist agree on the goals of therapy (eg, the long-term, big picture aim of what therapy is meant to accomplish)

Worried about making the wrong choice?

What does this mean for you when you’re trying to find a good therapist in Athens?

It means what is good for you may not work for someone else. 

Therapy is a tailored process that happens between two people.  While training and credentialing certainly do matter—and that’s why I’ve taken time to review those here– they are not the only piece of the puzzle.

To learn more about other important aspects that will help you find a good therapist, you can look for my upcoming blog posts on different kinds of therapy techniques and questions to ask a therapist in your consultation or initial session.

Ideally, you should leave those initial meetings feeling understood, validated, and perhaps a sense of hope that things can improve.  If you notice that you’re feeling uncomfortable, judged, or like the therapist isn’t getting it, it could be a sign that it’s time to keep looking.

The main takeaway is this:  how you feel toward the therapist after a consultation and/or a few early sessions can tell you a lot about whether the therapy is likely to be helpful.

Final thoughts

Back to the alphabet soup that brought you here in the first place.  There are many types of licenses and graduate training programs that prepare someone to offer therapy.

While I’ve tried to cover many of them, please know this list isn’t comprehensive.  There are other types of therapists whose licensing I’m less familiar with and haven’t mentioned here (LPAs and CADCs, I’m looking at you).

And, the credentials I’m discussing are specific to the state of Georgia in the United States, although this information is generally applicable to other states in the US.

As always, it’s important to learn the particulars of licensing and professional services that are available in your area, regardless of where you live.

Best of luck to you in your search for a therapist!

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If you are looking for therapy in the Athens, GA area, I may be able to help.  I offer free, 30 minute consultations for anyone thinking about working with me.  Feel free to reach out via the contact form on my website for more information.