Counselling and psychotherapy are forms of treatment for psychological distress. Both involve talking to someone about yourself in complete confidence.
The focus of the sessions may be to work through immediate difficulties, or something more deep-seated in your life or your relationships with others. The emphasis is on helping you find your own answers and you will be heard without judgement. What you want to achieve will be discussed at an initial meeting and an agreement made about commitment and fees. Typically you meet once a week for a 50-minute session, but this could vary according to need.
There is no definitive distinction between counselling and psychotherapy. In general, counselling is a talking therapy which allows individuals to deal with specific life crises, whereas psychotherapy is used to look at 'life' issues - most commonly those whose past experiences are still affecting relationship with others. Psychotherapy also concerns itself with issues of meaning and purpose. Depending on the nature of your problem, the sessions can extend over a short or longer period of time. It may be helpful to think of counselling and psychotherapy as being at either ends of a scale. At one end would be brief counselling to deal with a specific and current problem, at the other end would be long-term psychotherapy to explore ongoing or perhaps deeper existential issues. Sessions can be provided for adults, on a one-to-one basis, or for couples where the therapist is suitably qualified.
The main factor that determines how successful a therapy is lies not so much with the technique used, as with the relationship between the client and the counsellor or psychotherapist. It is this which is likely to determine how successful the process is.
Counselling tends to be shorter term and concerned with specific problems, while psychotherapy is often longer term and involves the exploration of what underlies the way we are.
Thank you for contacting the BCPC Referral Service. Please answer the following questions to help us find you a suitable therapist. This information will be anonymised and circulated to our network of BCPC trained counsellors and psychotherapists to see who thinks they could work with you and has availability.
Please do not give very detailed personal information on this form, just give a few brief details of the area you feel you need support with.
If you have any questions about confidentiality or any other aspect of completing this form, please contact the Referral Service Coordinator on 07907 771 612 or email referralservice@bcpc.org.uk
Counselling and Psychotherapy can help you change your life for the better.
Search our list of BCPC members for a professional counsellor or psychotherapist in your area.