From the author: What is important is to know about psychological help. For many of my clients, psychotherapy and psychological counseling are synonymous. In fact, it can be quite difficult to draw a clear line between where psychological counseling ends and psychotherapy begins. But before we try to see this fine line, I would like to say a few words about the direction of therapy in which I work. -Gestalt therapy does not strive for immediate behavior change and quick elimination of symptoms. Elimination of symptoms or behavior change achieved without sufficient awareness does not produce lasting results or leads to the emergence of new problems in place of old ones. -Gestalt therapy is aimed at awareness of oneself: one’s feelings, needs, desires, bodily processes, one’s mental activity, as well as, as far as possible, full awareness of the external world, especially the world of interpersonal relationships. -As a result, a person who seeks help acquires the ability to consciously choose his behavior, using various aspects of his personality, to make his life more fulfilling, and to get rid of neurotic and other painful symptoms. He becomes resistant to the manipulations of other people and is able to do without manipulation; in other words, he learns to stand on his own two feet. So let's talk about the differences: · Process. In the most general terms, we can say that psychological counseling offers a person an “outside perspective” that reveals ways to better use one’s own resources and improve the quality of life. Psychotherapy is an “experience from the inside,” a process of discovering, experiencing and living the experience by the client, accompanied by a psychotherapist. In psychotherapy, the path to solving the client’s problem is not predetermined, but is born in the process. In other words, the answer to a question found as a result of the client’s search and internal efforts becomes an integral part of his personality. In psychological counseling, recommendations given by the consultant can remain only external instructions if the client fails to “appropriate” them outside the psychologist’s office. · Goals. The goal of the psychotherapeutic process is, first of all, to change the client’s personality, and through this, to change the usual ways of reacting and perceiving situations, behavior, relationships, etc. The goal of psychological counseling is always more specific and involves assessing the client’s problem, analyzing the causes that gave rise to it and identifying ways to resolve it. · Client motivation. From psychological counseling, the client expects an assessment of the problem, an analysis of its causes and recommendations for resolving it, and the client’s motivation is to obtain useful knowledge or skill. Often, during a conversation with a psychologist, a change in the client’s motivation occurs - from searching for an external solution to internal change and personal growth, in this case counseling turns into psychotherapy. · Duration: Psychological counseling requires less time, and rarely exceeds 15 consultations. Psychotherapy is a more complex and nuanced process. A person’s personality takes years to develop, and achieving sustainable internal changes takes time. http://gestalt-therapy.ru/Konopy.htm