Joshua Tree offers several counseling options to help clients from from hopeless to healing in a comfortable, inviting, and private office setting. We believe that healing IS possible, that hope can be restored and lives and relationships can be changed.
The words counseling and therapy are often used interchangeably but there are a few noteworthy distinctions that may help guide you in how to select a mental health professional to help you with your specific concerns and goals.
Counseling
Counseling is typically short-term. Counselors offer support and guidance, focusing on “present day problems that may be affecting your overall mental health and well-being” (Healthline.com, 2020). Grief is an good example that illustrates the need for counseling because the loss of a loved one is a present day concern impacting a person’s overall ability to function. Once a person has grieved the loss, counseling generally comes to a close. Counseling generally lasts week to months.
Counseling is the process of figuring out what to do about the issue or situation that is causing a person’s distress or dysfunction. Of course, during counseling it may become clear that deeper issues are impacting the person’s ability to grieve and it may be necessary to transfer care to a therapist.
Counselors have varying degrees ranging from a bachelor’s degree to a doctorate degree and they may have certifications but they aren’t required to be licensed.
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy tends to be longer-term because the focus is usually on the influence of the past on present-day functioning. Whereas people who seek counseling generally have an idea of what the issues that brought them to counseling, people who seek psychotherapy may have more general concerns like trauma, feeling disconnected, instability in relationships, or they may present with a major mental health diagnosis in need of ongoing support. Therapy may last months to years.
Therapy is the process of unraveling the why behind a person’s suffering AND developing strategies to cope with or change their circumstances.
Therapy is a state regulated practice which requires adherence by the therapist to a code of ethics, and licensing rules and standards. They must have a minimum of a master’s degree and should be licensed.
While a psychotherapist is qualified to provide counseling, a counselor may or may not possess the necessary training and skills to provide psychotherapy. — VeryWellMind.com, 2020