The Difference Between Psychotherapy, Counselling and Coaching - Let’s Talk Counselling

/

 THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PSYCHOTHERAPY, COUNSELLING AND COACHING - PART 2

Unlike animals, our evolved brain has given us the luxury to think and feel emotions rather than rely on instinct alone.

It also means, however, that like our 21st century AI companions ranging from computers to robots, we also need to delete cookies, refresh our browsing history and completely reboot our memory in order to function effectively.

Psychotherapy, counselling and coaching are excellent ways for the human brain to make sense of your world - past experiences, confused emotions and dysfunctional behaviours. 

But how do you choose which one is for you?

In Part 1, I unpicked psychotherapy and why you might consider it over counselling or coaching. 

Over the next two blogs, I’ll be unpicking why you’d choose either counselling or coaching as your therapy of choice.

If you missed Part 1, you can fill in the gaps to bring you up to speed on this three-part blog series.

Let’s take a look at why you might choose counselling to support you.

Counselling

As I mentioned in the psychotherapy blog, counselling is very similar in that it is a talking therapy that assists the person in addressing challenging and problematic issues in a confidential environment.

The difference is that in counselling sessions, many of the issues you may address are usually related to present day concerns ie anger, anxiety, depression, stress without delving into the depths of their origins as thoroughly as in psychotherapy.

Counselling sessions allow you the space and time to talk about what’s  bothering you with the intention of finding present day resolutions and creating positive coping strategies for the next time it happens.

Similar to psychotherapy, there are several ways to receive counselling from one-one, in pairs and groups, over the telephone, via video and online through messaging and email.

Some common topics that a counselling session will be able to assist you with are:

  • Addictions

  • Bereavement

  • Bullying

  • Illness

  • Mental health

  • Relationships

  • Trauma

Sessions can range from short to long term however little is accomplished in just one session so most clients choose to work with a counsellor on a regular basis. 

Following are a selection of therapies that a counsellor might incorporate in their sessions with you.

Art Therapy

This is a creative way to express feelings through the medium of art and is considered an alternative approach. By using both words in conversation and art therapy, the client may open opportunities to understand themselves in a new way.

Behavioural Therapy

This is used to shift behaviour patterns like addictions and phobias. It focuses on unlearning behaviours and concentrates on the present rather than reflecting on the past.

Cognitive Therapy

Your thoughts usually determine your behaviours, so this therapy looks at your thinking patterns and where they may not be serving you. It supports you in creating new ways of thinking for more positive thought patterns.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

This is a combination of both cognitive and behaviour therapy supporting you in addressing thought patterns and their resulting behaviours.

With a focus on the present, problems are broken down into smaller, more manageable chunks and emotions are separated to assist with resolving specific issues.

Humanistic Therapies

Also found in psychotherapy, these include:

  • Person-centred therapy - aka Rogerian Therapy identifies that each person has the capacity and desire for personal growth and change where the therapist practices empathy and unconditional positive regard 

  • Gestalt therapy - regards the individual as a totality of mind, body, emotions and spirit

  • Human Givens - a practical, holistic and scientific approach based on fulfilling our human needs and ensuring that our innate resources are adequately met.

So, as you can see there are many crossovers with psychotherapy and counselling. 

Counselling however, is a wonderful opportunity to give yourself the space to source insights and understandings of the issues at hand without delving too much into the past and for focussing on the present and future. 

It is often not as deep as psychotherapy however depending on what you need it can be just as beneficial.

Using counselling sessions to understand your own behaviours and the behaviours of others is certainly an effective way to shed light on how you interpret your world.

Please ensure that you always seek out reputable, professional and qualified therapists by taking the time to research them before reaching out.

You can find my profile and other therapists at welldoing.org.