There are so many therapist qualifications and credentials that it can be dizzying.

A therapist’s credentials are meant to communicate two main things:

• Their education
• The licenses they hold

To practice, therapists first complete the required education, and then they must be licensed by the state they wish to practice in.

We’ll break down the qualifications by category.

Psychologists with a Master’s Degree

MSC, MAPC, MMFT, LGPC, LCPC

A psychologist must have a master’s degree to practice therapy.

• MSC: Master of Science in Counseling
• MAPC: Master of Arts in Professional Counseling
• MMFT: Master of Marriage and Family Therapy
• LGPC: Licensed Graduate Professional Counselor
• LCPC: Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor

Psychologists with a Doctorate Degree

PhD, PsyD, DMFT, EdD

Psychologists typically get a doctorate because they have specific research interests they wish to pursue.

• PhD: Doctor of Philosophy
• PsyD: Doctor of Psychology
• DMFT: Doctor of Marriage and Family Therapy
• EdD: Doctor of Education

Psychiatrists

MD

Psychiatrists are the only mental health professionals who can prescribe medication, and often, though not always, focus on medication management rather than therapy.

They often work with other mental health professionals who provide therapy. They must complete medical school to be licensed.

• MD: Doctor of Medicine

Social Workers

MSW, LCSW, LCSW-C, LGSW, LISW, LMSW, LSW

Social workers make up the largest group of mental health services providers. A master’s in clinical social work is required to be licensed.

• MSW: Master of Social Work
• LCSW: Licensed Clinical Social Worker
• LCSW-C: Licensed Certified Social Worker - Clinical
• LGSW: Licensed Graduate Social Worker
• LISW: Licensed Independent Social Worker
• LMSW: Licensed Master Social Worker
• LSW: Licensed Social Worker

Marriage and Family Therapists

MFT, MMFT, LCMFT, LMFT

A master’s in marriage and family therapy is required to be licensed.

• MFT: Marriage and Family Therapist
• MMFT: Master of Marriage and Family Therapy
• LCMFT: Licensed Clinical Marriage and Family Therapist
• LMFT: Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

Pastoral Counselors

CCPT, CpastC, NCPC

Note: A pastoral counselor is different than a pastor who may sometimes give informal spiritual counseling. A pastoral counselor has completed a master’s program in Pastoral Counseling or Pastoral Therapy.

• CCPT: Certified Clinical Pastoral Counselor
• CpastC: Certified Pastoral Counselor.
• NCPC: National Certified Pastoral Counselor

Alphabetical List of credentials

This list is not complete; far too many credentials exist to list all of them. But these are some of the most common.

• CCPT: Certified Clinical Pastoral Counselor
• CpastC: Certified Pastoral Counselor
• EdD: Psychologist with a Doctorate in Education
• LCMFT: Licensed Clinical Marriage and Family Therapist
• LCPC: Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (psychologist with a master’s)
• LCSW: Licensed Clinical Social Worker
• LCSW-C: Licensed Certified Social Worker – Clinical
• LGPC: Licensed Graduate Professional Counselor (psychologist with a master’s)
• LGSW: Licensed Graduate Social Worker
• LISW: Licensed Independent Social Worker
• LMFT: Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
• LMSW: Licensed Master Social Worker
• LPC: Licensed Professional Counselor
• LSW: Licensed Social Worker

Summary

Any of the professionals listed above have enough training to provide good quality therapy. Your compatibility with them and their areas of specialty are probably more important than the differences between their certifications.

It is important to know whether the therapist you’re seeing has extensive education, or just took a 6-month course online. If a therapist you’re interested in doesn’t have any of the above credentials, ask them why, and what they do have.