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Jennifer McNamara, president of the European Counseling Association, is convinced that counseling is categorically wrong to reduce to psychotherapy. These are completely different things, and counseling has great potential.
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Psychological counseling is categorically wrong to reduce to psychotherapy. These are different forms, and counseling has serious advantages over psychotherapeutic work. Colleagues, stop engaging in psychotherapy where it is not necessary, and master the work with healthy people who do not need psychotherapy, master the methodology of psychological counseling.
When a client comes for a consultation, he can be offered both psychological counseling and psychotherapy: counseling that takes place in the format of psychotherapy, that is, psychotherapeutic counseling. Once again, psychotherapy can occur during counseling. Or it may not happen, as, for example, during coaching with business people.
It can be difficult to draw a clear line between these types of psychological work. One thing is certain: it is wrong to think that counseling differs from psychotherapy in that counseling is short-term and psychotherapy involves long-term work. This is not true. Counseling may consist of a series of consultations as needed, on the other hand, and psychotherapy may be short, one-time.
Psychological consultation is an orienting conversation of a psychologist with a reasonable client about his life situation. There are no patients here, no one treats anyone.
Psychological consultation is a rather rational procedure. At a psychological consultation, the client is in the position of the Author, in the position of a sane, with a good head, active and strong, an adult who knows how to solve his own problems, knows how to determine his goals and priorities for himself. A psychologist in this situation helps to look at situations from new points of view, share his (sometimes very rich) life and business experience, show examples (options) for solving certain life tasks that are relevant to the client.
Psychotherapeutic counseling is one of the types of psychological assistance to people who are immersed in difficult feelings and who are in the position of the Victim. A psychologist who conducts psychotherapeutic counseling is more often referred to as a therapist, and his contingent is clients who experience difficulties in everyday life, activities and communication. Psychotherapeutic counseling produces a systemic restoration of the mental health of the client.
Briefly: the client is in disassembled feelings, the work goes mainly with feelings and through feelings, the work is cautious and not fast. The client is treated for a sick soul. They heal and inspire. They inspire and heal.
It should be taken into account that the consultation format is internally closer to male clients, while female clients are more often inclined towards psychotherapy themselves. However, the sooner the consultant returns the client to the position of the Author and reorients her to work in the consultation format, the better the result will be.
Let’s be careful just in case. It is clear that psychological counseling is not always possible or not always immediately, it is appropriate only while the client is in the position of the Author and is generally responsible for the direction of his life. It is inappropriate, clearly insufficient and simply bypassed when a psychologist gives advice to a patient who really needs psychotherapeutic help.
A girl with disassembled feelings came to you for a consultation. There is a lot of internal tension, so you want to cry, but it’s very difficult to turn on your head. I am not inclined to realism, it is more habitual to lie or compose at least for myself, at least for others. Behind this is distrust, that is, fears, and the inability to endure at least some kind of mental pain. Is it possible to rationally explain something in this situation? — probably not. Here we need (at least at the beginning!) psychotherapy: listen, bring to life, relax, reconfigure at least some trust in yourself, in you and in life ..
If the client does not hold the position of the Author, goes into the position of the Victim, is not ready to take the necessary steps himself, but expects a decision from the consultant, this is a more difficult situation, and work under such conditions takes place in a different format: once a suggestive impact, once a longer format of psychotherapeutic counseling.
On the other hand, if a reasonable person comes to you for advice, and you arrange psychotherapy for him, this is not professional and not ethical. In civilized countries, a client can sue you for this, and you will lose your license.
When a client calls and asks for a consultation, be sure to clarify whether he needs a consultation or psychotherapy. At the same time, of course, the clients themselves do not know this and even usually do not understand what the question is about, but in the process of clarification, the psychologist can understand and feel what the client really needs.
If there is little sense in the speech, a lot of emotions, experiences, and the conversation is more about a “state” (depression, loss of interest, “I feel really bad”), then psychotherapy is more needed. If a person has even a difficult life situation, but the person is reasonable and adequate, therapy is not needed, only consultation is needed.