patient–client issue
the dilemma of how to identify the recipient of psychological services or intervention (i.e., the nomenclature used for the recipient). Psychiatrists, many clinical psychologists, and some other mental health providers tend to follow the traditional language of the medical model and refer to the people seeking their services as patients. Counseling psychologists, some clinical psychologists, social workers, and counselors tend to avoid the word patient, which is associated with illness and dysfunction, and instead use the word client to refer to the person seeking their services.