There’s no real difference between the two.

According to the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), counselling and therapy are terms used interchangeably to describe the process of working with a trained professional to explore and address personal issues and emotional difficulties.

A therapist's job is to provide a space for individuals to talk about their feelings, challenges, and develop coping strategies.

Therapy/counselling is grounded in building a trusting relationship between the client and the counsellor/therapist.

More info on BACP's website here

It’s as simple as, “I feel like there are things in my life that I wish I could change, but I’ve tried on my own, and I think I need more support in this.”

Therapy is NOT for everyone, though. I strongly believe you need to want to be in therapy for it to work.

If you want to take your life into your own hands, become more self-aware, learn what drives you and what keeps you down, work through past experiences or figure out an issue, you are welcome to book an initial call to meet me on the phone and see if we 'vibe'.

As a counsellor, I will not offer you advice or tell you how to live your life. My job is to support you in what you want to achieve, focus on, or change. I will listen and can offer a reflection or something I’ve noticed, but I will always try to stay in your frame of reference and will focus on you.

First, book an initial free call to see how I can help you and for you to meet me and make sure you want to work together.

Then, we schedule an initial assessment which will take about an hour. The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) explains: “Your therapist may ask you if you would like to give a history of the problems you’re experiencing. They might want you to complete some forms or go through information they’ve received about you, such as a letter from your GP. Or they may just ask you to ‘tell your story’. It’s important that you feel you’ve had the opportunity to tell the therapist about what’s troubling you.”

If we still feel like we could be a good match and working together sounds good, then we schedule a first session. During the first session, we will agree on a contract for working together (more info here).

In the following sessions, we will focus on your presenting issue or anything else you bring into the therapy room. This depends solely on you.

The number of sessions you need will depend on a few factors

• Your presenting issue (focus of the sessions)

• How much you want to work through

• Your budget

• How the sessions are going and if you are happy with them after the initial 6-ish sessions

• Your availability

The leading counselling accreditation organisation (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy) explains integrative counselling here:

"Integrative counselling draws on techniques from different types of therapy to tailor an approach specifically for you.

An integrative counsellor believes there isn’t just one therapeutic approach that can help a client in all situations. Instead, they take into account you as an individual and your circumstances, and use elements of different approaches to help you explore and cope with your problems."

Source: here

What to do if you want to make a complaint about poor or unethical practice by your therapist:

If you feel like me or any other therapist has breached the contract you've agreed or did not act accordingly to the Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions (BACP, 2018) you can access the BACP's procedure and guidelines here.

You can find the directory of BACP accredited therapists (of which I am a member) via this website.

I am a British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy Member (MBACP, Membership Number 407777).