What is Psychotherapy or Counselling - and what's the difference?

There is a lot of discussion about what these disciplines are. I don't pretend to have an answer, but for myself counselling is supportive, empathetic and helps the client to look at all aspects of any given problem.

Psychotherapy is more to do with understanding the frames of the problems, looking at what situations, beliefs and values contribute to why the problems are being presented. When the context of the problem is examined sometimes it can become the solution itself.

Both are concerned with helping people to move from a place of discomfort to another place that is more comfortable. A lot of people are unsure about psychotherapy and don't want anyone telling them what to do. They don't need to be analysed! And that's a good point: psychotherapy is not about analysis (which tends to be focused on the past), it's about getting and keeping a better life in the future. Starting now!

I believe no one's brain is damaged or faulty. Everyone's brain works just fine. Some of the things some brains process are not so good for some people but the brain is just fine. So with that idea, you can see how change can happen – get a different idea that is going to be more use to you and use that. Sound too easy? Where did you get your current ideas from? You learnt them. You got them from someone else and you have used them well. We change as do our circumstances and over time, some of those ideas can start to be in conflict with who we are now.

Why is change so difficult? We were never taught how to run our brain. It wasn't even an optional subject at school. So why are we expected to be able to run it now without any help? That's why I practice as a psychotherapist: to help others to run their own brain and their own life.