Counselling involves talking and listening in a safe and judgement free environment.  A trained counsellor will seek to explore difficulties in the life of the client that prevent them from moving forward and being happy.  This might relate to a particular problem, distress over a specific situation or dissatisfaction with life and a loss of purpose and direction.

The counsellor is trained to listen and by listening draw out and explore the feelings the client may be having in order for them to see more clearly.  Bottled up anxiety, anger, grief and frustration can lead to debilitating distress and it is the counsellor’s role not to advise or direct but to allow the client space to explore and face up to their own problems, helping them to understand them better.  Trust is a key player in the healing process as the client may feel able to talk about things that they might not have spoken about before – especially to family or friends who are often emotionally involved.  The counsellor will help the client to identify behavioural patterns or situations which stand as a barrier to their well being in order for them to find an initial place to start change in their life.  It is an ideal place to discuss what is best for the client, what the next step is and the options that are open to them.

It could be argued that there are as many different approaches to counselling as there are counsellors as the profession is by its nature very human and individual but what every counsellor does offer is a safe, informed and patient listening ear.

Psychotherapy works very much along the same lines and it is not generally possible to make a distinction between it and counselling save the environment in which it is offered and the training and interests of the professional.  The activities and outcomes are much the same but a professional working in a hospital as a psychotherapist, for example, is likely to be helping people with more serious psychological disorders whereas those who work in more everyday settings are more likely to be dealing with more general problems which are nonetheless important to the client.

The two disciplines could therefore be seen to overlap but the important nature of the work remains the same.