So…Are you a doctor?

The short answer is no, I’m not a doctor.

Believe it or not I’ve gotten identified as being a “doctor” many times. I am a Licensed Professional Counselor or LPC for short. I don’t work in the medical field at all. I don’t give shots, take your temperature, or listen to your heart.

I know sometimes it’s hard trying to remember various professions - there are a lot of them and even some of them have different levels of knowledge. For instance, in the nursing field you may see a LPN, RN, CNA, just to name a few. Training, knowledge, school, working and gaining experience, and passing exams all play a role in your level of achievement. Then if you think of all of the different professions your child may interact with during their life, such as a doctor, nurse, speech therapist, occupational therapist, school counselor (which I’m not either), teacher … the list can be endless … it can be really easy to lump a lot of people into one category.

So what’s the problem with doing this?

I don’t have a MD or PhD behind my name. I haven’t earned those degrees; therefore, I can’t use those titles. Another reason that a distinction is important is, think about when you were a child and your parent told you that you were going to the doctor. Almost immediately I’m betting that you thought of white coats and syringes. I don’t have either of those things. When people, especially children, come through my door I don’t want them to come in already scared (not that doctors are scary, they help us feel better when we’re sick or hurt and make sure that we’re growing like we’re supposed to be and everything’s working okay). It can be scary talking to someone about thoughts, feelings, and fears, that we often time bury deep. And if you’ve never talked to a therapist/counselor/mental health professional (LPCs can go by several things) you may not know what to expect. I do my best to help push that fear right out the door the moment you step into my office.

In essence, words have power. Labeling someone brings up thoughts and feelings about them. A counselor is someone that you can talk to about whatever is bothering you. We listen and help you work through the problem, stress, anxiety, or fear that you may be feeling. In a way we do help heal, just not with medicine - which I also am unable to prescribe anything! If you’re not sure what a counselor does, look it up, ask someone who has been to mental health therapy before, or ask the counselor themselves. We’re really good at listening. ;-)