Counselling or Psychotherapy, what is the difference?
Counselling can help you understand the way you're feeling, gain a better understanding of this, and recognise new ways of coping. It also gives the opportunity to talk about things in a safe, non-judgemental space, where you decide what changes work for you.
Counselling is usually short term help, whilst Psychotherapy is a longer working relationship, where the therapist may use psychological tools to help the client explore the background to problems that are severe, or issues that may have their roots in past experiences such as childhood.
I work as an integrative therapist, which is when a therapist combines specific elements of different therapeutic approaches to create a bespoke service for clients. The needs of each individual client are therefore considered as a whole and techniques/approaches tailored to their personal circumstances. (This is done however with the client's permission).
To explain further I have a Person Centred Approach (or client led therapy), at the core of my work; with the client leading the sessions, as they are seen as the experts of their own issues. In addition I also use other styles of therapy such as CBT or Solution Focused Therapy to complement the counselling support.
Choosing a therapist or counsellor can be quite a difficult task – so for further information why not check out the following sites: