What is the Difference between Counselling and Psychology?

Psychology

is a body of scientific knowledge that aims to help people with various emotional, cognitive and behavioural issues.  It emphasises applying research and evidence to defined disorders.  It therefore aims to provide clients with information and strategies to help them with their particular, often diagnosed condition.

Counsellors

aim to create a therapeutic relationship, with their clients that provide new insight and fresh perspectives.  The client can then decide what they want to change in their lives.  Counselling focuses on the person as a whole, rather than that he or she has a particular disorder or diagnosis.

The counsellor and client are in a relationship of nurturing discovery.  Counsellors are trained to pay attention to not only client reactions, but also their own reactions to the client.  This provides the counsellor with direction on whether to explore certain topics or issues with the client.

Art vs Science

Psychologists tend to make decisions based on their knowledge of disorders or diagnoses.  They use evidence-based interventions.  A counsellor’s approach is a discovery together of what works for each client.

Professional counsellors usually have therapy themselves, to understand what it’s like to be a client, and to do their own in-depth self exploration.  This is so they don’t bring their own issues into the therapeutic relationship.  Psychology courses usually don’t include any such experiential component.

Esssentially, Psychology is a science, based on evidence and research.  Counselling is more of an art, based on intuition and creativity.  However Counsellors still work from a body of knowledge of various theories that inform their work, and also use psychological models which provide, over time a sense of  ‘clinical wisdom’.

Psychology tends to focus on resolving ambiguity and complexity through the application of evidence based principles, whereas Counselling focuses on the counsellor’s ability to tolerate ambiguity and complexity with clients – not expecting a ‘fix’, and being driven by the client’s needs in each session, rather than developing a treatment plan.

Of course, as both psychologists and counsellors develop in their chosen paths, they often bring learnings from both psychology and counselling into their practice and blend the two to cater to their particular clients’ needs.  They also mature and acquire their own life experiences and developtheir self awareness to provide a safe, holding space, and a sense of patience, non judgement and tolerance, for clients to explore their own inner worlds.