First of all I want to say that many professionals practice both counselling and psychotherapy. They may mix different elements, depending on course duration, actual issues and individual characteristics. But let’s try to understand the differences in their natural form.
The easiest way is to start with an example. Imagine people who are afraid of performing in public, but they should periodically speak in conferences for work. So, every time before the conference they can’t fall asleep and feel tension and fatigue in the morning. And although usually do well, this part of work exhausts our hypothetical client so much that they already want to quit. So, they decide to consult a psychologist to figure out how to resolve such a situation.
You see, once I’ve already used that word – to consult. Usually one to ten appointments are needed to resolve such problems. During this time the client can learn and try out a few ways to calm down before their performance and to understand the cause of anxiety. Perhaps, finally find out whether he or she wants to quit the job.
But sometimes the client wants to analyze deeper own personality. Some clients want to understand why exactly they are so anxious before conferences, what are these feelings associated with and how else it can affect their life. And after such an analysis they decide to change and rethink their internal mental attitudes. They want to start thinking, supposing, feeling and doing differently. These issues are already in the field of psychotherapy. And their resolving usually needs from several months to several years.
We can’t say which is better and which is worse. Just for addressing various issues different tools may suit. And such tool, as counselling, may, for example, help in dealing with such issues, as:
– Areas of employment selection
– Improvement of relations with close ones
– Improvement of relationship wits co-workers
– Motivation level maintaining
– Making important decisions
– Help during the significant life changes
We can say that counselling deals with symptoms and recent problems of people who want to understand themselves. It is good for those ones who can verbalize thoughts and feelings and see their own contribution to problem resolving. This is a great tool for those who are trying to understand themselves and change their lives for better.