The terminology of counseling and psychotherapy get mixed up often so here is my meaning
Counseling implies giving advice – that can be appropriate and helpful. It can be a part of psychotherapy. The tougher issues in psychotherapy, the ones that cause deep pain and suffering, are not fully subject to the kind of rational conscious control that counseling advice helps with.
Here is a recent quote about clients experiencing a lot of pain and difficulty by an eminent scientist expressing his frustration at therapists who explain and give advice: ”Psychologists usually try to help people use insight and understanding to manage their behavior. However, neuroscience research shows that very few psychological problems are the result of defects in understanding; most originate in pressures from deeper regions of the brain that drive our perception and attention.” … Bessel Van Der Kolk, The Body Keeps the Score 2014
Sometimes, advice or counsel is really what you need, and depending on what you bring to my office, psychotherapy as I practice it might sometimes contain only a very small part of the giving of advice.
COUNSELING PSYCHOTHERAPY SERVICES
PSYCHIATRIC CONSULTATION
Access to psychotherapy and psychiatric services is the largest unmet need in Canadian mental health care. Psychotherapy Matters was founded to make it easy for people to find the right services matched to their needs.
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GROUP THERAPY
An overarching goal of group therapy is to provide a safe forum for the exploration of inner feelings while generating a greater capacity for self-understanding and for empathy toward self and others
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INDIVIDUAL THERAPY
Deciding to enter a coaching, counseling or psychotherapeutic relationship is big. Every one of us has survived to where we are right now. You might be prepared to tolerate more discomfort
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COUPLE THERAPY
Couple therapy can be a lot like individual therapy, meeting once a week more or less, learning to communicate and become intimate with yourself and your partner. It can be focussed on managing children or step-children
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REMOTE VIRTUAL SESSIONS
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