Hong Kong’s Trusted Source for Psychotherapy & Counselling

A psychologist and a psychiatrist are often confused as having the same meaning. While both study the brain, emotions, feelings and thoughts, there is a distinct difference between the two fields of study.

Psychiatrists begin their careers in medical school and then go on to four years of residency training typically at a hospital’s psychiatric department.

Psychologists go through five to seven years of academic graduate study and hands-on clinical training, culminating in a doctorate degree.

As medical doctors, psychiatrists can prescribe drugs, whilst psychologists cannot.

Some people refer to psychotherapy as “talking treatment” because it is generally based on an individual talking to a therapist. However, psychotherapy is much more than talking about your problems. A trained psychotherapist will help you to tackle a specific or general problem by giving you the tools to be able to cope more effectively. In psychotherapy, therapists apply scientifically validated procedures to help people develop healthier, more effective habits. There are many different professionals that practice psychotherapy such as; clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, counsellors, marriage and family therapists and social workers.

Psychotherapy is a professional relationship between a therapist and a client. Psychotherapists are trained to understand what you say and how you say it. They pay close attention to body language, voice tone and content to fully understand what you are trying to say.

While family or friends can help you feel better or even provide good advice for change, this is not psychotherapy. You can tell therapists things without having to worry about your information being told to others or in any way affecting your job, family or relationships.

Psychotherapy provides a supportive environment that allows you to talk openly with someone who is objective, neutral and nonjudgmental. You and your therapist will work together to identify and change the thought and behavior patterns that are keeping you from feeling your best.

By the time you’re done, you will not only have solved the problem that brought you in, but you will have learned new skills so you can better cope with whatever challenges arise in the future.

The way in which our psychologists and counsellors will work with you will depend in part on what you seek from psychotherapy, how you understand your difficulties, available support, and any time-constraints you have. We believe that the relationship between the therapist and the client should be a collaborative one, in which we both work together to come to an agreement on the goals and focus of therapy.