Lacan Psychology Public Account "An article to understand the value of various psychological counselor certificates" lists 15 popular psychological counselor certificates on the market. Only two of them belong to national professional qualification certificate , which are legal Those who engage in psychological counseling cannot engage in psychological counseling with the other 13 certificates.
my country implements a professional access system. The professional admission system for psychological counselors is a system for obtaining psychological counseling qualifications. A psychological counselor must hold the professional qualification certificate issued by the relevant national departments. This certificate is the legal basis for you to practice as a psychological counselor. Without this certificate, you cannot do this thing, and it is illegal if you do it. Just like if you don't have an physician's practicing certificate , you can't practice medicine, and practicing medicine is illegal. You cannot drive on the road without a driver's license, and it is illegal to do so.
Currently, there are only two types of professional certificates that can be used for psychological counseling in our country, and there is no third type. It is the "National Professional Qualification Certificate for Psychological Counselors" issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, and the "Professional Technical Qualification Certificate for Psychotherapists" issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security in conjunction with the National Health Commission. People who do not obtain these two certificates cannot engage in psychological counseling and psychotherapy.
National Vocational Qualification Certificate for "Psychological Counselor"
The Ministry of Labor and Social Security officially launched the "National Professional Standards for Psychological Counselors (Trial)" in April 2001, and officially included psychological counselors in the "Chinese Occupation Ceremony". In July 2002, the national professional qualification project for psychological counselors was officially launched, and the national unified identification examination is held twice a year.
The national professional qualification appraisal is divided into five levels. As a profession with high knowledge content, psychological counselors start appraisal directly from level three. There are three levels: Psychological Counselor Level 3 (National Vocational Qualification Level 3), Psychological Counselor Level 2 (National Vocational Qualification Level 2), and Psychological Counselor Level 1 (National Vocational Qualification Level 1).
However, in actual operation, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security only issued the second-level psychological counselor and third-level psychological counselor certificates, but did not issue the first-level psychological counselor certificate.
The " National Professional Standards for Psychological Counselors" (2005 edition) promulgated by the former Ministry of Labor and Social Security shows that those with a bachelor's degree or above in psychology, education, and medicine can apply for Level 3, while those with psychology, education, and education majors can apply for level three. , only those with a master's degree and a doctorate degree in the medical major can apply for the second level psychological counselor.
"National Professional Standards for Psychological Counselors" in the function of "psychological diagnosis", second-level psychological counselors can engage in "differential diagnosis", while third-level psychological counselors can only "receive initial diagnosis and collect and organize information." In actual operation, those who hold the second-level psychological counselor certificate can start their own business, and those who hold the third-level certificate can initially work as psychological counselor assistants.
On September 12, 2017, psychological counselors withdrew from the national professional qualification catalog . On May 20, 2018, the last national unified examination for psychological counselors was held. This became a watershed event in the history of the development of psychological counseling in our country, and since then we have entered the era of psychological counseling without certificates. Thousands of people will ask today, what certificate do I need to take if I want to become a psychological counselor? The correct answer is: No certificate is currently reliable! We can only wait for the introduction of new national policies.
"Psychotherapist" Health Professional Technical Qualification Certificate
The "Key Tasks for the National Social Psychological Service System Construction Pilot in 2021" announced by the National Health Commission pointed out: In order to improve the mental health service capabilities of medical institutions, 100% psychiatric hospitals in the jurisdiction have been established Psychological Clinic , 40% of general hospitals of level two or above have psychiatric (psychological) outpatient clinics.
If you sign up for a psychological consultation clinic in the hospital, the person who receives you will not be a psychiatric doctor, but a psychotherapist. The psychiatrist prescribes medication for you. A psychotherapist just talks to you. Doctors engaged in this profession hold the " Psychotherapist Health Professional Technical Qualification Certificate" jointly issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the National Health Commission.
Psychotherapists are people who engage in psychotherapy in medical and health institutions. Psychotherapists are divided into primary qualifications and intermediate qualifications, and there are currently no advanced qualifications.
A psychiatrist is a practicing physician who has graduated from medical school and has completed training in all medical specialties. Psychiatrists have prescribing authority and most have basic training in clinical evidence-based psychotherapy. Some psychiatrists choose to treat patients solely with medication, while others focus on psychotherapy, and still others choose to combine medication and psychotherapy. But in recent years, there have been fewer and fewer psychiatrists specializing in psychotherapy. Because face-to-face psychological analysis often requires a lot of psychiatrists' time, and patients with mental illnesses are almost overcrowded, most doctors do not have the extra energy to conduct complete psychological consultations.
In order to implement the spirit of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the National Health Commission's "Notice on Strengthening the Evaluation and Recruitment of Health Professional Technical Positions" and other relevant documents, the nationwide examination-based evaluation for junior and intermediate technical qualifications in health professions has been officially implemented since 2001. "Psychotherapist" is one of the health professional technical qualifications . Those who have graduated with a bachelor's degree or above and have a professional health professional degree (including public health, clinical, traditional Chinese medicine, integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine, nursing and other medical and health majors and psychology-related majors) can directly apply for junior psychotherapist; those who have graduated with a master's degree or above must have taken more than 2 years. , with a professional health professional degree (including public health, clinical, traditional Chinese medicine, integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine, nursing and other medical and health professions and psychology-related majors), you can directly apply for the intermediate psychotherapist exam.
Unless a psychiatrist works part-time as a psychotherapist, the psychotherapist does not have the right to prescribe.
The similarities and differences between psychotherapists and psychological counselors
You can simply understand that: psychotherapists practice in hospitals, and psychological counselors practice in social psychological counseling institutions. Beyond that, the differences between the two professions are huge.
The knowledge backgrounds vary greatly: psychotherapists have a medical or clinical medical background and are more concerned with physical pathologies; psychological counselors have a psychology or clinical psychology background and are more concerned with psychological abnormalities.
Consultation settings vary greatly: the psychotherapist's consultation time is usually about 20 to 30 minutes, and there is no treatment setting. The time for psychological consultation varies among different schools. Calculated based on 50 minutes once a week. The consultation time of classic psychoanalysis can be as long as 1 to 3 years; the consultation time of cognitive behavioral therapy is usually about 16 times.
Consultation fees vary widely: In my country in the 1990s, psychotherapists charged 30 yuan per hour. Currently, psychotherapists in various places charge around 50 yuan. The fees for psychological consultation range from 400 yuan to 2,000 yuan for 50 minutes in first-tier cities in my country.
With the popularity of psychological counseling, after more than 20 years of development, the competency of psychological counselors has been continuously improved, and the management system of psychological counselors has also been continuously improved. Due to the limitations of my country's medical system, the relevant system construction for psychotherapists is not complete, and there are not many psychotherapists who can engage in psychological counseling in a standardized sense in medical and health institutions. Except for first-tier cities, psychological outpatient clinics in most areas basically exist in name only. Therefore, if you want to seek psychological counseling, a psychological counselor from a social institution would be a good choice.
In addition to the above two certificates, any third certificate will not be able to engage in the psychological counseling industry. These include psychological counseling training certificates issued by Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Chinese Psychological Society and Chinese Mental Health Association . These training certificates only prove that you have participated in relevant training, but are unable to practice.
After psychological counselors withdrew from the national professional qualification catalog, a blank was left in the psychological counselor's practicing certificate. At the same time, it also presented a huge business opportunity. Various institutions are targeting the big cake of psychological counselor qualification certificate . You After Fang finished singing, I came on stage. There are various psychological counselor certificates emerging in endlessly. Bookmark this article so you can read it out from time to time.
Author : Gongsun Wei
Editor : Le Yige
Picture : Sun Shaodian
Editor: Sheng Ruya
Planning : Da Gong Psychology
About the author : Member of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies . Member of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. Member of International Association of Chinese Medical Specialists & Psychologists (International Association of Chinese Medical Specialists & Psychologists, IACMSP).
