Do you perceive any difference between a counsellor and a psychotherapist?
I am a counsellor, and according to my professional body, the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, there isn’t any difference between a counsellor and a psychotherapist. But the profession is in the process of being regulated by the Health Professions Council, and there is a lot of debate and consultation going on at the moment, so possibly in the future they will be different. The problem is that neither the word ‘counsellor’ nor ‘psychotherapist’ is protected by law, basically anyone can set themselves up as one with the minimum of training. So when regulation comes in it will protect both the professional and the patient. However, a general rule of thumb is that counselling is likely to be short term, and to focus more on goals and objectives, and psychotherapy is likely to be more long term, and will focus more on unconscious processes and childhood experiences. But this isn’t a definite distinction, as some counsellors offer long term in-depth work also. (The abo
