Definition of COUNSELING

Professional counseling is a skilled activity that

involves assisting others in managing and resolving

psychological, emotional, behavioral, developmental,

relational, vocational, and other personal challenges

(chronic or acute) in order to facilitate adjustment

to changing life circumstances; promote personal

growth, needs attainment, and overall wellness

throughout the life span; and prevent the development

of more serious conditions. At its essence, professional

counseling involves the formal application of theoretical

and empirically supported psychological, developmental,

and learning principles to facilitate desired

change or growth within a larger system of ethical and

professional practice standards. These principles are

implemented through specifically tailored cognitive,

affective, behavioral, and systemic strategies and

interventions delivered through therapeutically oriented

conversations and interactions.

Types of Professional Counseling

Originally derived from the Latin root, consulo,

meaning to advise, deliberate, or consult, counseling

can be conceptualized in a number of different ways.

Professional counseling is provided within the context

of individual, couples, family, and group formats.

Some counselors define their work on the basis of

developmental life stages (i.e., child counseling, adolescent

counseling, adult counseling, and geriatric

counseling). Counseling can also be distinguished

temporally, whether it is intended to be very shortterm

crisis counseling, brief counseling, or long-term

counseling. Distinct subspecialties within the profession

of counseling include school counseling, career

counseling, and mental health counseling. Counseling

is also sometimes defined by the distinct underlying

theoretical orientations upon which the professional

counselor draws (e.g., solution-focused counseling,

person-centered counseling, existential counseling).

Differentiating

Professional Counseling

There is a clear difference between professional counseling

and lay counseling, with the former being bound

by professional ethical standards and premised on

sound theoretical and research-supported principles.

Professional counseling is different from other helping

activities such as guidance and health or psychoeducation

in that these other activities are primarily directed

at providing information and advice in an emotionally

neutral context. In relation to other mental health professions,

professional counseling is best distinguished

by an emphasis on normal development, adaptation to

changing life circumstances, and positive growth.

Although the terms counseling and psychotherapy

are often used interchangeably, the two are distinct.

A simple perspective may conceptualize counseling

and psychotherapy as falling on a continuum, with

counseling designed for normal populations and psychotherapy

designed for clinical populations. To state

this another way, some individuals see counseling

as more concerned with adjustment to mainstream

life transitions and normative stressors, while psychotherapy

is seen as more concerned with psychological

disorders and psychopathology. An alternative 
conceptualization is to attend to the traditional paradigmatic

differences between the two. Counseling

typically follows a growth-oriented, developmental,

and preventive framework. In contrast, psychotherapy

typically adopts a medical (i.e., diagnose-and-treat)

model. Although the practice of counseling is not

intended specifically to diagnose and treat psychiatrically

classified mental disorders in the tradition as the

medical model, it is intended to facilitate wellness,

personal growth, needs attainment, and adaptation to

changing life circumstances. Consequently, when professional

counseling is employed with individuals who

meet the criteria for specific disorders, the emphasis

remains on the person’s ongoing adaptation, personal

growth, wellness, and needs attainment. Through facilitating

positive movement and change in these areas,

the person’s diagnosable condition may improve.