According to the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (IACP)
both counselling and psychotherapy involve the provision of
professional assistance to people who are experiencing personal issues,
in order to help alleviate those difficulties. Counselling tends to deal
more with immediate issues that may have arisen more recently e.g.
bereavement or relationship breakdown. Psychotherapy tends to deal with
deeper, more long-term issues that may be rooted in the past e.g. a
trauma, or, serious mistreatment, where the affects of such are ongoing.
Counselling and psychotherapy are terms that overlap heavily and are
often used interchangeably. They incorporate the giving of attention and
respect in a confidential relationship. It provides an opportunity to
explore, discover and clarify ways of living more resourcefully towards
greater well being. Stress, Anxiety, Bereavement, Addiction and
Relationship issues are some of the reasons why people engage the
services of a counsellor/psychotherapist.
A
therapist may provide counselling with specific situations and a counsellor may function in a psychotherapeutic manner. Generally
speaking, however, psychotherapy requires more skill than simple counselling. It is conducted by professionals for example psychologist trained to practice
psychotherapy.
Counselling
The term counselling is sometimes used to refer to all types of talking therapy, but it is also a type of therapy itself. Counselling involves talking to a trained counsellor in
confidence about how you feel about yourself and your situation. The
counsellor will listen and help you understand your problem. They will
also work with you to find ways to deal with the problem better.
Psychotherapy
Like counselling, psychotherapy is also sometimes used as a general
term for psychological therapies. The UK Council for Psychotherapy considers psychotherapy to be more in-depth than counselling and able to address a wider range of issues. During psychotherapy, a therapist will help you consider how your
personality and life experiences influence your current thoughts,
feelings, relationships and behaviour. This understanding will enable
you to deal with difficult situations more successfully.
References:
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Counselling/Pages/Talking-therapies.aspx
http://depression.about.com/od/psychotherapy/a/counseling.htm
http://www.irish-counselling.ie/images/What_is_counselling_and_psychotherapy.pdf
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