Definitions of Guidance, Counseling, and Psychotherapy

Reference:
Source:

Counseling: A Comprehensive Profession, Third Edition, Samuel T. Gladding, 1996.

http://www.swanexpressivetherapies.com/counseling.htm (Accessed: 10 Jan 2015)

01.01.07
There have always been counselors people who listen to others and help resolve difficulties
but the word does not always mean the same thing. One hears of carpet counselors, colorcoordination counselors, pest-control counselors, financial counselors, and so on. These
counselors are most often glorified salespersons. They are to counseling what furniture doctors
are to medicine. Counseling as a profession is relatively new. It grew out of the guidance
movement, in opposition to traditional psychotherapy. To understand what counseling is, you must
first understand these two concepts.
Guidance
Guidance is the process of helping people make important choices that affect their lives, such as
choosing a preferred life-style. While the decision-making aspect of guidance has long played an
important role in the counseling process, the concept itself, as an often-used word in counseling,
has gone the way of consumption in medicine (Tyler, 1986, p. 153). It has more historical
significance than present-day usage. Nevertheless, it sometimes distinguishes a way of helping
that differs from the more encompassing word counseling.
One distinction between guidance and counseling is that while
guidance focuses on helping individuals choose what they value
most, counseling focuses on helping them make changes.
Much of the early work in guidance occurred in schools: an adult
would help a student make decisions, such as deciding on a vocation
or course of study. That relationship was between unequal teacher
and pupil and was beneficial in helping the less-experienced person find direction in life.
Similarly, children have long received guidance from parents, ministers, scout leaders, and
coaches. In the process they have gained an understanding of themselves and their world
(Shertzer & Stone, 1981). This type of guidance will never become pass; no matter what the age
or stage of life, a person often needs help in making choices. Yet such guidance is only one part of
the overall service provided by professional counseling.
Counseling
Both the American Counseling Association (ACA) and Division 17 (Counseling Psychology) of the
American Psychological Association (APA) have defined counseling on numerous occasions. Their
definitions contain a number of common points, some of which follow.
Counseling is a profession. Practitioners should complete a prescribed course of study usually
leading to a masters degree or a doctorate degree. Counselors are members of organizations that
set professional and ethical standards and promote state licensing and certification by national
associations (Wittmer & Loesch, 1986). The process of certification and licensing and the
adherence to ethical codes assure the public that the counselor meets minimal educational and
professional standards. Counselors should possess personal qualities of maturity, empathy, and
warmth. Overall, counseling is active and differs considerably from passively listening to problems.
Counseling deals with personal, social, vocational, empowerment, and educational concerns.
Counselors work only in areas in which they have expertise. These areas may include intra- and
interpersonal concerns related to school or college adjustment, mental health, aging, marriage or
family issues, employment, and rehabilitation.

Counseling is conducted with persons who are considered to function within the normal range.
Clients have adjustment, development, or situational concerns; and their problems require shortterm intervention. They are not considered sick but stuck. Sometimes they just need
information, but usually they are looking for a way to clarify and use the information they already
possess.
Counseling is theory-based and takes place in a structured setting. Counselors draw from a
number of theories and work in a structured environment, such as an office setting, with various
individuals, groups and families.
Counseling is a process in which clients learn how to make decisions and formulate new ways of
behaving, feeling, and thinking. Counselors focus on the goals their clients wish to achieve. Clients
explore their present levels of functioning and the changes that must
be made to achieve personal objectives. Thus, counseling involves
both choice and change, evolving through distinct stages such as
exploration, goal setting, and action (Brammer, 1993; Egan, 1990).
Counseling encompasses various subspecialties. Subspecialties
include school or college counseling, marriage and family counseling,
mental health counseling, gerontological counseling, rehabilitation
counseling, addiction counseling, and career counseling. Each has specific educational and
experimental requirements for the practitioners.
Thus, counseling can be more precisely defined as a relatively short-term, interpersonal, theorybased process of helping persons who are basically psychologically healthy resolve
developmental and situational problems. Counseling activities are guided by ethical and legal
standards and go through distinct stages from initiation to termination . Personal, social,
vocational, and educational matters are all areas of concern; and the profession encompasses a
number of subspecialties. A practitioner must complete a required course of study on either the
masters or doctoral level to be licensed or certified as a professional.
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy (or therapy) traditionally focuses on serious problems associated with intrapsychic,
internal, and personal issues and conflicts. Characteristically, it emphasizes the following issues
(Pietrofesa, Hoffman, and Splete, 1984; Super, 1993):

The past more than the present

Insight more than change
The detachment of the therapist
The therapists role as an expert

Psychotherapists and clinical psychologists generally use the term psychotherapy to describe their
work. Whether clients receive counseling or psychotherapy, however, is often determined by the
professionals who provide the service (Trotzer & Trotzer, 1986). Some counseling theories are
commonly referred to as therapies and can be used in either a counseling or therapy setting.
There are other similarities in the counseling and psychotherapy process.
Generally, when making a distinction between psychotherapy and counseling, you should consider
two criteria. First, psychotherapy usually involves a long-term relationship (20 to 40 sessions over
a period of six months to two years) that focuses on reconstructive change. Counseling, on the
other hand, tends to be a short-term relationship (8 to 12 sessions spread over a period of less
than six months) and focuses on the relationship of developmental and situational problems.
Second, counseling is usually provided in outpatient settings (nonresidential buildings, such as
schools or community agencies), whereas therapy is provided in both outpatient and inpatient
settings (residential treatment facilities such as mental hospitals).