What is the Difference between Counselling and Psychotherapy?
You may be considering undertaking some therapy and beginning to wonder where to turn, what type of therapy to seek, who might be the most appropriate person to help with your specific issues and indeed where to find them.
If you are considering private therapy, the options are quite the minefield. It can be useful to seek specialised support for particular issues such as substance misuse, bereavement, sexual assault, adoption-related difficulties etc but for the more generic, daily life struggles, who do you turn to?
One of the first dilemmas you may come across is the professional title terminology of ‘counsellor’ and ‘psychotherapist’ and this can be a little confusing as they will both appear to offer similar courses of therapy and matching solutions.
The truth is, there isn’t a great deal of difference at all, and neither will be the right or wrong choice for you if you find the right individual therapist that fits for you.
At most, a psychotherapist will have a higher level of qualification than a counsellor but that’s not to say that a counsellor isn’t well trained or educated. They will have completed a good four and half years of training and practice before entering the world of private practice and sitting before you in their chair. A psychotherapist will have undertaken additional qualifications such as a degree or higher, or trained in other therapeutic approaches that give them more tools to use but of course qualifications aren’t everything, I can have a bag full of tools and choose not to use them, I can keep pulling out tools unsuitable to the job, I can let my own narrative get in the way of seeing what it is the person in front of me actually needs from me.
There is currently an open discussion in the therapeutic world around the importance of high level qualifications in supporting clients to their fullest potential and, as a highly qualified practitioner myself I can honestly say that, although my qualifications are hugely beneficial to my understanding of the psychology of the mind, it is my experience that puts me at the higher advantage when it comes to offering a deeper level of understanding, patience, and support to clients individual needs.
Both counsellors and psychotherapists are required to undertake additional continued professional development and so continue to build knowledge all the time. There are excellent counsellors and psychotherapists that are highly involved in the therapeutic world and will engage in events and read scholarly articles and books on specific subjects and will arm themselves to support each individual client that comes through their door. They are in the business of helping and they want to be able to help you to the best of their ability. They will read, research, ask colleagues for advice, and take issues to mandatory monthly supervision with another trained therapist in order to build their knowledge and support you through. Their level of commitment is what makes them good therapists. No amount of training can prepare a therapist for the variety of complexities they will find in their therapy room.
It is therefore less important to decide between a counsellor and a psychotherapist than it is to ask pertinent questions of your therapist of choice. Consider what is important to you before you reach out and connect. A good therapist will always be open to discuss your queries and answer your questions.
There are a wide variety of therapies on offer that may or may not fit for you and it would be prudent to do a little research before you invest in what may potentially become a long-term commitment to your emotional well-being. There are therapists offering specific skillsets and therapists offering an integration of skills which may be more useful if you’re unsure of what might be right for you as they will be more able to adjust their way of working to your individual needs. These are generally described as integrative therapists and again can be counsellors or psychotherapists.
There is some useful guidance in this previous blog ‘What to Expect from Private Counselling’ that you may find helpful when considering your choices but do add your own questions that feel important to you. Are high level qualifications something you would like your therapist to have? Will you weigh up the experience they have in years or in client hours? Some therapists will only have been practising for a few years but have a high caseload, some will have been therapists for many years but have had a smaller caseload and therefore be equally experienced.
It’s important to also note that, even as a trainee, I had some great successes with clients, new to the field and practising my skills, I nevertheless was able to support clients to a positive outcome without a great deal of experience at all because, at the end of the day, providing therapy is about putting yourself in someone else’s shoes and hearing their truth. Most of us are able to do this if we really put our minds to it and understand the basic principles of skilled listening. A therapist of any description will simply have a more in-depth ability to help you explore it and as a trainee, these newly learned abilities will be fresh in the mind. Ask yourself, are you accessing therapy to have someone fix your issues for you or do you need someone to talk to, someone to listen, someone to help you find your own solutions? You’d be hard pressed to find a therapist that can’t offer you the core principles of therapy, no matter what title they give themselves.
That said, your therapist should still fit for you. Make contact by phone, ask your questions, and see how you feel the conversation flows. If you meet with a therapist and it doesn’t feel entirely comfortable, don’t force it, trust your instincts and find someone else, it’s entirely possible you’ve had a clash of personalities or their working methods don’t feel right for you. You’re unlikely to find the outcome you’re looking for if you persist with this. How open can you be if you’re not fully comfortable?
This is where, for me, I feel there is a shortfall in free therapy as you will be offered whoever and whatever is available and, usually after a lengthy wait, if it doesn’t meet your needs, this could potentially set you back as you feel therapy can’t help you when in actual fact, the type of therapy or therapist you’ve been offered simply hasn’t been right for you. If you’re unable to afford private therapy, don’t give up here, ask for another therapist, get another referral, try again.
The aim of any therapeutic process is to build a relationship with your therapist in order to promote a high level of understanding and communication that will support you in finding insight into yourself. The therapist will gauge patterns in language and behaviour in order to feed this back to you and explore where these may have developed, and they will support you through any distress. You need to have trust in your therapist that this will be offered in a manner that feels right for you and you need to feel able to open up and share your innermost vulnerabilities where necessary. You will need a connection. These intrinsic things don’t derive from qualifications. Counsellor or psychotherapist, it is but a title, you’ll need to see the person behind it to make the right choice for you.
You are more than welcome to make contact by phone for a discussion or to book in for an initial consultation to see if I fit for you. If you’d rather I contacted you, you can use the enquiry page here and I will be in touch.
