If you are struggling with something in your life, such as not knowing how to manage stress or working on kicking habits, a counselor can help you. However, if you are struggling with depression, anxiety, or self-sabotaging behaviors from within that stop you from living, you need therapy.
Counseling focuses on problem-solving or teaching you different techniques to cope with issues. There is no digging deep within when it comes to counseling, and it is, for the most part, short-term. However, therapy is long-term, and the objective is for the individual to dig deep within their subconscious to find out what it is that is causing them to live a low quality of life.
Therefore, if you are not struggling with demons within but are locked in some bad habits, addictions, and other defeating behaviors, counseling is for you. There are three types of counseling which are psychodynamic, interpersonal, and mindfulness-based.
Psychodynamic Counseling
Psychodynamic counseling is a common approach that involves the individual developing psychological techniques to deal with situations and emotions that are complex. This form of counseling was established based on Freudian theory as one primary concern Freud had was how early experiences could impact the subconscious. Therefore, adults behaving in a certain way do so in response to how they were affected by the traumatic experience.
This form of therapy is short-term, and examples of the types that fall under this umbrella are hypnotism, dream interpretation, projective tests, and free association. For instance, if you are having a recurring nightmare causing you anxiety, you can use the help to solve the issue by a psychodynamic counselor.
The counselor will help you get to the bottom of the recurring nightmare through dream interpretation. Once you get to the bottom of it, you will realize you have some underlying anxieties over something. The counselor can teach you tips and give you tools on how to manage it. Once you utilize them, you will be calmer, and the nightmares won’t be happening anymore. The next type of counseling is interpersonal counseling.
Interpersonal Counseling
Interpersonal counseling is an approach that is diagnosis-focused, whereas it teaches the client that has a mental illness how to live independently. These individuals learn how to become self-efficient and how to deal with environmental stressors by utilizing practical methods.
That counseling approach is short-term, and the objective is that the client gains an understanding that their psychological problems tie to external stressors. Therefore, they earn an understanding of how they can face these stressors in practical ways and become more confident in the end. The counselors serve them as allies, as they are quite supportive and compassionate.
For instance, if a client struggles with depression, they will need to understand tips on how to remain productive during their days. They will also need to learn techniques to face unavoidable situations that can potentially worsen their depressive symptoms. An example of that would be the lockdown as a result of the pandemic. If the client has tips and techniques on how to prevent their depression from worsening, they will be able to handle the challenging situation. The third type of counseling is mindfulness-based counseling.
Mindfulness-Based Counseling
When you are mindful of something, you are fully aware and in the present. You are keeping a nonjudgmental mind frame where you are only paying attention to what you see, what you feel, and what you hear. Your thoughts are coming through, and you are only allowing them to come through without judging at all—mindfulness counseling, teaching clients how to remain mindful when they are in any situation.
The client learns how to pay attention to their feelings. In addition to that, they pay attention to their senses without judging any of them. This counseling teaches people how to stay open-minded while responding to thoughts, which is a Buddhist approach. This type of counseling aims to accept any situation you are in and any ideas you are having. That is good for those who struggle with anxiety and low-self-esteem, so they are kinder to themselves.
If you want to learn more about the different counseling types and see which style suits you the best, click here.
Conclusion
You know how different therapy is from counseling and vice versa. Therapy helps clients dig deep within to work with unconscious issues affecting how they conduct their lives and behaviors. It is also for individuals that need that type of intense support for the long-term. However, counseling utilizes a practical approach to positively teach clients how to change their behaviors, states of mind, and habits. Clients use it for short-term periods.
You are aware of how counseling and therapy differ from one another. Counseling can be different as well and serve other purposes. Only the client knows which type is the most helpful to them.