therapist
Americannoun
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therapists
plural
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a person trained in the use of physical methods, as exercises, heat treatments, etc., in treating or rehabilitating the sick or wounded or helping patients overcome physical defects.
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a person trained in the use of psychological methods for helping patients overcome psychological problems.
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Also therapeutist a person, as a doctor, skilled in therapeutics.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of therapist
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How does therapist compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
An expert at a specific kind of healing practice is called a therapist. A massage therapist is trained to soothe sore muscles, for example. The first thing many people think of when they see the word therapist is a psychotherapist, a mental health practitioner whose job is to diagnose and treat psychiatric conditions. This kind of therapist might listen to a patient's thoughts, fears, problems, and dreams and offer helpful techniques or even medication. Other types of therapists include physical therapists and occupational therapists, both of whom help clients with mobility and quality of life issues presented by their physical disabilities or challenges.
Vocabulary lists containing therapist
"Fears and Phobias," Vocabulary from the article
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Out of My Mind
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Guts
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
For Colón Angueira, every walk-and-talk involves three parties: the therapist, the client and Mother Nature.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
What will he tell a therapist one day?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026
Carla Cressy worked as a model from the age of five until she was 17, but she kept collapsing on shoots and retrained as a self-employed beauty therapist.
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026
Explore your options with the help of a financial adviser, a couples therapist, or both.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 24, 2026
Her teacher told her parents, who took her to a therapist.
From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater
It certainly keeps advisers, lawyers, doctors, therapists, courts and prisons in business.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026
Staff were not trained therapists, she said, so it was hard to know how to navigate these discussions with students.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
Staff were not trained therapists so it was hard to know how to navigate a moment like this, she said, and many of her colleagues felt at a loss for words.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
“Once the culture picked up on the idea of trauma that is everywhere, therapists really responded to that,” says the University of Minnesota’s Doherty.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026
“You’re missing school to meet with therapists today, huh?”
From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
