Counselling

What is Counselling ?

Counselling is a therapy that aims to enhance and nurture the psychological well-being of individualsl thus permitting them to attain their full potential. The counsellor achieves this objective by helping the personal growth of the client and to develop a self-realisation. This allows the client to adopt and enact constructive habits in their everyday lives. Counselling can assist in many ways. It may enable the individual to develop a more focused understanding of his or her concerns and to assist in the acquisition of new skills that lead to enhanced management of personal and educational issues. The counsellor can offer a different perspective and help people to think of alternative and perhaps better solutions to any given problem. Sharing one's thoughts and emotions with someone that is not personally involved in your life can be extremely helpful.

What is the Difference Between Counselling and Psychotherapy?

Counselling and Psychotherapy are frequently considered to be one and the same therapies. However on occasions counselling is offered as an integrated part of the psychotherapy process. Indeed counsellors may work with clients in a psychotherapeutic manner. The main difference between the two courses of therapeutic communication treatment is in the recommended time that is needed to see the benefits of the therapy sessions. Normally counselling refers to shorter term treatment that centres around behavioural issues. Psychotherapy focuses on treating clients for longer periods and draws from insights into emotional issues and difficulties.

A counsellor will offer a more specialised treatment of communication that focuses on providing a framework to the counselling experience. For example, a counselling treatment for addiction will be offered in progressive steps over a certain period of time. A psychotherapist however, will concentrate on a deeper consciousness of emotional issues, and looks at the basics of the problem. Psychotherapists are trained to be able to offer a form of counselling to clients. A person with the same qualifications however, may decide to be called a counsellor instead. In general a practitioner that offers short term treatment is regarded as a counsellor. A therapist with two or more years of training will usually choose to be known as a psychotherapist. To the general public the title counsellor may seem to be less intrusive and more easily acceptable than the name that a psychotherapist suggests. Consequently some psychotherapists may decide to call themselves counsellors in order to appeal to a wider client base.

Main Differences Between Counselling and Psychotherapy

Counselling

Counselling is a short-term process that encourages the change of behaviour that helps clients to identify their problems and issues. It then encourages them to take positive actions to bring about a resolution these problems. Counselling is the best course of therapeutic treatment for clients that already have an understanding of a sense of well-being and who is also able to resolve problems.

Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy is a longer term form of treatment that helps to identify emotional issues and the background to the problems and difficulties. It assists clients that have psychological problems that have been built up and sustained over a long long period of time. Psychotherapy helps clients to understand their emotions, thoughts and actions in a more clear way.

The Counselling Process

The counselling process is dependent upon the individual counsellor and the individual situation of the client. Nevertheless most counsellors will use the following basic process with perhaps some modification depending on the client's circumstances. Firstly your counsellor will need to collect some basic background information. Then the process moves on to an identification of the central issues. Following a case formulation your counsellor will set some goals for the therapeutic process. The counsellor will then implement some interventions which will be monitored and evaluated for effectiveness. The ultimate aim of the counselling process is to bring about closure on the issues of concern to the client.

Myths and Realities About Counselling

Psychotherapy - Counselling - Meditation

Recommended Counsellors & Psychotherapists

Irish Representative Body for Counsellors

The main representative body for counsellors in Ireland is the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Institute of Ireland. Contact details are as follows: