Why don't people with Master's degree get addressed with the title instead of just abbreviation after the name?

If it says Dr. before her name she has a doctural degree. I don’t see the sentence you refer to on the link, but if it’s a psych seminar then she’s probably a medical doctor or has a PhD in psychology. That’s my guess without seeing the full context.

Why do you say she doesn’t have a doctorate?

In my experience most people do put their credentials after their name, especially if they’re giving a talk or something (for example, most social workers put LICSW after their name, same as a lawyer would put esquire). This seems like an oversight, and the website was riddled with spelling mistakes so it seems like maybe it was just a bit of an amateur website designer who might have forgotten to put the credentials. It doesn’t even say what’s Solden’s credentials are in her bio, just that she’s a psychotherapist. That would be a pretty big turn off for me personally if I was looking for a therapist.

The way it was explained to me, when I started teaching, was that once you earn the terminal degree in your field (the highest degree they give out in that area of study), you get a title or letters after your name.

PhD = Dr. Smith

Juries Doctorate = Ms. Smith, Esq.

Master of Social Work = Ms. Smith, LICSW

I have a Master of Fine Arts degree. Since there is no PhD in my major (Graphic Design), I get to be Mr. CookieMan, MFA.

If you want to teach, terminal degrees also qualify you for a professor track…

instructor > assistant professor > associate professor > professor

On my office door, it says “Associate Professor CookieMan, MFA”.

I find it all a bit silly really. A former boss of mine (college president) refused to answer anyone who didn’t refer to him as “Dr. So and So”. He would either ignore you or correct you if you referred to him as “Mr.”

If the degree is “Master”, why not address them with “Master [insert name]”?

@cookieman That’s annoying that he just ignored someone if they didn’t use Dr. Kind of snobby. Most people don’t even know my dad has a PhD, unless they were work colleagues. Work knows, because the position he had required a PhD so it’s a given, but everyone used first names anyway. I guess when he taught maybe he was Dr. Lastname, I’m not even sure. Usually, in academic settings the Dr. is used I guess.

In the field of psychology it’s more likely to use the Dr., but in law it’s rare to hear a lawyer addressed as Dr. unless maybe in a university setting? Just thinking out loud here. It seems to vary by specific course of study, occupation, and setting.

Ragingloli: Its probably not still the custom, but it used to be the custom that young boys were addressed as “Master [insert name]” especially in addressing letters or cards, so for formal reasons, such as titles, it might not work.

Edited to add;
By the way I got this from the “About” page:
“Psychotherapist Sari Solden, MS, LMFT, is a pioneer in the field of counseling…”
http://www.soldenfrank.com/about She has a Masters.Was it just updated (like yesterday?)
@JLeslie Her colleague is referred as Dr. ...and so if she had one too it would be both they would refer to as Dr. ...I’m trying to find the page I got the sentence from.

@omfgTALIjustIMDu @cookieman @ragingloli @ragingloli

I’m asking about how to address them whether they have a Bachelors or Masters. Why is it only the ones which PHD that have a title to be adddressed with, Dr. so and so? And I’m referring to being addressed when they are in public, on interviews etc., not with they’re with each other or friends etc.

@cookieman Would you like your granparents or parents to be called by their first name by everyone or only by people who are close to them? Same thing. And in public they are Dr. so and so even if it’s your brother etc., right?

@flo: My parents and grandparents always went by their first names to everyone. If someone addressed them as Mr. or Mrs. So and So, they would always say, “Please, call me (First Name).”

I do the same thing. Only exception is when I’m teaching, my students refer to me as “Professor” — not because I require it…they just do. Commonplace on campus I suppose.

A person with a PhD gets called doctor because they have a doctorate. The other levels of education don’t have any title. You want a fancy title, you have to earn it.

Regarding Master, it’s still done by some people when addressing letters to young boys. I saw a lot of grandparents use it when sending gifts to their grandchildren.

@cookieman Yes but I wasn’t referring to what some people say to people who address Mr./Mrs. ( last name). I was referring to people who on their own, decide to call everyone by the first name, and /or the ones who easily agree to to address everyone by 1st name. The fact that you don’t require it is neither here nor there, isn’t it?

There is cookieman another person, without the credentials and there’s you, with the credentials.

And there would be no ignoring/correcting by your former boss if no one called him by his first name (as if they are familiar enough to him) esp. if they kept doing it or they already heard about it before they met him.

Esquire is a designation for an attorney in the USA….not someone with a master degree. There is no title for a master degree but the M.S. goes after the name.

In England the term Esquire may be attached to other doctoral professions such as engineers.

@JLeslie PhD is not the only doctoral level degree. Law degrees, medical degrees, D-Divinity, EdD, DBA, DClinPsy, EngD, degrees, are examples of doctoral degrees where the holder is called doctor. In the USA attorneys generally are only called doctor (or professor) in academic settings.

Her degree doesn’t qualify her for Esquire. Only attorneys use the Esquire title and it’s used as a suffix, not a prefix. Ex. Molly McGuire, Esq. Attorneys just as often just use their degree. Ex. Molly McGuire, J.D. (Juris Doctor). Never both.

^^That’s what I said. You need a doctorate to be called a doctor. We are agreeing. I mentioned law above, of course there are others. I wrote above in the field of psychology it’s more likely to use the Dr., but in law it’s rare to hear a lawyer addressed as Dr. unless maybe in a university setting? Just thinking out loud here. It seems to vary by specific course of study, occupation, and setting. You maybe didn’t see that answer.

@MollyMcGuire Thanks for that info.
Why aren’t there terms for all the degrees (not just holders of PhD) for purposes of addresing them not just for to use as suffix?