Psychotherapy or counseling?
The two terms are used often as synonyms. However, psychotherapy and counseling differ in the length of time, the technique and the impact on the person. Psychotherapy usually requires a larger number of sessions and a greater intervention in the depth of personality.
Counseling, in turn, is associated with a supportive attitude from the adviser, offering suggestions and interventions focused on behavior, assuming a relatively short duration of treatment.
A term that is used more often is that of consultation and refers rather to an attitude of collaboration between client and therapist. Client actively participate in decisions on issues discussed at the meeting and finding solutions.
What is life coaching?
“Training for Life” is a process of personal development, focused on setting and achieving personal / professional goals.
Using techniques from counseling, sociology and leadership, life coaching will help you know your motives, strengths and obstacles and to devise a plan of action for positive change in your life.
What is the difference between life coaching and psychotherapy?
While psychotherapy sessions are focused on solving a dysfunctional state, “Training for Life” enables a shift to an optimal functional state.
More specifically, you don’t need to feel bad in order to use a life coach; it’s enough to aspire to live to the most of your potential.
Phrases like “the individual’s full potential” or “champion of their lives” may sound like clichés, but they are real targets for coaches determined to restore your confidence and determination.
What is the difference between a psychiatrist, psychologist and psychotherapist?
The psychiatrist is a medical school graduate and specialized in psychiatry. Its jurisdiction includes the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of mental illness. The main therapeutic tool used by the psychiatrist is prescribing the right medication.
The psychologist is a college graduate in psychology and specializes in different areas: clinical psychology, educational, organizational, etc. Its jurisdiction includes the psychological study of human behavior, psychological testing, investigation and recommending ways to address the various psychological problems.
The therapist is a specialist (e.g. physician or psychologist) with postgraduate training in psychotherapy. The main therapeutic tool used by the psychologist varies according to which school of therapy he belongs : therapeutic conversation, psychodrama, hypnosis, interventions through art therapy, existential, etc.
Psychotherapy is recommended only for the mentally ill?
Most people who contact a psychotherapist are going through a difficult period of life, they face a complex existential problem and, in general, they are in a situation that cannot be solved alone or with close ones.
There are people seeking help for suffering from a mental illness and who are under the monitoring of a psychiatrist. In these cases, psychotherapy completes the psychiatrist prescribed medication.
An important segment of those seeking psychotherapy is the people who are in a personal development quest because they want to enrich their lives, to improve job performance and interpersonal relationships.
How long does a psychotherapy lasts?
A complete treatment program lasts on average between 6 to 20 sessions, with a weekly frequency and duration of 45-50 minutes for individual psychotherapy and 90 minutes for couple psychotherapy.
Duration is different from person to person, depending on the problems it faces and the degree of responsiveness and involvement in therapy. It is difficult to say from the first meeting how many sessions will be needed, but over time this will be more easily observed by the client.
How do I know if therapy is successful or not?
At the beginning of therapy, the psychotherapist in conjunction with the client, establish some clear objectives that can be modified over time.
In this way, the patient can evaluate himself if he became less depressed, anxious, aggressive, etc..
Therapy, counseling or coaching have been successful if
you are much more relaxed in everything you do, that is, a lower level of existential anxiety than most people;
you have a degree of frustration tolerance much higher, meaning you get angry more difficult and less;
are much more honest with yourself and with others, being more open to self-disclosure;
your relationships are more balanced, more satisfying and you spend more time with loved ones;
you have a high degree of tolerance to uncertainty, the unknown scares you less;
you are better able to talk about yourself, to shade the expression of feelings, to describe the complexity of feelings, to captures the ambivalence or contradiction between some needs using a richer and more expressive language;
you accept much more easily human diversity, diversity of opinions, tastes and behavior;
you are more creative, non-conformist, more open to choose new solutions, different from others;
you are happier with your life and at the same time, have a more relaxed attitude in the face of existential uncertainty and death.
The psychotherapy sessions are confidential?
Confidentiality is guaranteed, except in situations where there is a risk that the person may want to harm herself.
What happens if I don’t show up for a session?
Don’t worry, the fee you payed for the session is good for another session, booked at a future convenient time.
The same is true if the internet connection drops or some unexpected situation appears during the session. This is one of the advantages of the online counseling, it can be adapted to the rest of your life aspects.
I am waiting for you when you wish to have an hour of conversation or when you want to reflect and be enriched by the objective opinion of someone knowledgeable in the works of the mind and soul!
Please visit also my profile on the live counseling platform LivePerson
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