I noticed, belatedly, that a topic I posted in the Counselling section had been moved here.
I should point out that the BACP can't distinguish between counselling and psychotherapy, and the hPC got into all kinds of trouble trying to invent some differences, notably to do with length of training, There seems to e no difference in the measurable outcomes between courses of counselling and psychotherapy - although what that means in practice could be up for debate.
Perhaps they should give the job of differentiating to the longsuffering HP mods?
Seriously, does anyone here have any ideas? I am a BACP accredited counsellor and psychotherapist, and I don't.
Building Self Esteem*
yes psychotherapy id most important for every patient ..
Psychotherapy or Counselling
There is no difference in training or practice between psychotherapy and counselling, but there is often a difference in where people work. This difference is currently merging, but generally holds true historically.
If you worked directly within the primary health service then you would traditionally favour the word 'psychotherapist' offering 'psychotherapy'. 'Psycho' sounds scientific and to do with the mind. 'Therapy' sounds medical.
If you worked in private practice outside a health service setting then you would traditionally favour the word 'Counsellor' and 'Counselling'. 'Counsellor' sounds like a wise old friend, as generally you have clients who do not have a medical problem only an emotional one.
So 'psychotherapy' is used if you need to persuade medical staff that your treatment is on a par with theirs, and 'counsellor' is used if you need to highlight the non-medical emotional nature of your work. Either way, the training and actual way of working are the same.
I noticed, belatedly, that a topic I posted in the Counselling section had been moved here.
I should point out that the BACP can't distinguish between counselling and psychotherapy, and the hPC got into all kinds of trouble trying to invent some differences, notably to do with length of training, There seems to e no difference in the measurable outcomes between courses of counselling and psychotherapy - although what that means in practice could be up for debate.
Perhaps they should give the job of differentiating to the longsuffering HP mods?
Seriously, does anyone here have any ideas? I am a BACP accredited counsellor and psychotherapist, and I don't.
I don't know if David is still active on HP? but just to add to ranelagh's comment the following link may help to provide further info for your question?
[url]The Difference Between Counselling and Psychotherapy[/url]
UKCP's brief definitions on different professions related to psychological therapy [DLMURL="http://www.psychotherapy.org.uk/different_psychological_professions.html"]Different psychological professions[/DLMURL]
Masha
UKCP's brief definitions
There's a surprise. The United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy rates psychotherapists as better trained than counsellors.
So someone with a PhD in counselling, or a professor in counselling such as John McLeod who holds Professorial positions at the University of Abertay, Dundee, UK, and University of Oslo, Norway, is not as well trained as most UKCP psychotherapists? I think Professor McLeod may disagree!
I feel there are 2 different issues here. First is simple terminology: is it useful to be able to distinguish between methods? I personally would say that counselling tends to be more short-term and focused on the resolution of a specific problem; psychotherapy tends to be longer-term and more interested in the whole story of how this person came to be who they are. This is perhaps how the terms have been used historically: psychotherapy is longer and deeper.
The second one is a matter of individual competence. There are most certainly counsellors who are 'better' than many psychotherapists. To me this is a matter of the training they did and (more importantly) the depth of their own personal development and breadth of personal and professional experience.
Richard, you may not get an answer. This is a pretty old post.
Ah well, it got a reply from you!
and from me....but thats only because like Crowan when I log on I look for new posts! However your comments may well still be seen by someone who will benefit 🙂
That's 3 of us... we almost have a convention! 🙂
Well, I'm back! And I do agree with Richard. In fact I may well use his wording on my website.
Thanks.
And, Tashanie/Sally/Krystal, I've retired as a pharmacist. I just don't do drugs any more.