The fields of clinical, counseling, and school psychology involve working with people in a helping relationship. There are four core mental health disciplines, of which psychology is one. The other three are psychiatry, clinical social work, and psychiatric nursing. Psychologists are the only mental health professionals who perform psychological testing.
Psychiatrists are the only mental health professionals who prescribe medication.
No academic degree required and not legally protected terms, but typically a master's degree. Within counseling there are many specialties, such as marital counseling, guidance counseling, and rehabilitation counseling. Survey research and our graduates' experiences attest to the value of behavioral statistics and research methods in addition to clinical skills. Consequently, students oriented toward graduate training in any of the helping professions are well-served by the psychology core curriculum. A related misconception concerns required training for certain clinical specialties.