The terms ‘Counseling’ and ‘Psychotherapy’ are often used interchangeably, however, both are very much different and each deal with different issues of mental health. Counseling deals with immediate and practical issues of day to day life. It helps client process immediate stress and anxiety usually brought on by some interpersonal conflict or environmental change. Counseling can also be provided for confidence building, emotional and social management, work life balance and resolving interpersonal and marital issues. Counseling deals with individuals who are fit enough to think rationally.

Psychotherapy on the other hand, is much more rigorous and in-depth than counseling. Psychotherapy deals with individuals who have mental disorders such as depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, trauma and stress related disorders, schizophrenia and various personality disorders. Psychotherapy helps client develop insight into deeper and pervasive causes of their problems. It helps client examine and deal with their long standing dysfunctional thoughts, emotions, beliefs, attitudes and behavior which have contributed in their inability to function normally in the

society and helps them change their unhelpful and dysfunctional perspective towards self, others and world. Psychotherapy also helps client uncover and manage their powerful negative emotions. Essentially, psychotherapy helps client develop greater self awareness so that they are better equipped to deal with their unconscious impulses, emotions and thoughts.

What clients can expect and cannot from therapy
What not to expect
Judgment from therapist
It is important to remember that a counselor or therapist is a trained professional and they are there to help you in every possible way they can. A therapist won’t judge you or belittle you. Nothing is off limits and you can discuss anything you wish with your therapist without any fear of judgement.

Advise
Therapy is a sound collaboration between client and therapist. Together they decide what to work on each session, how often they should meet and what can client do in between sessions for therapy homework. Both are equally active in suggesting direction for therapy session. Moreover, a therapist gives client room to access their own wisdom. They support them while they figure out what they want to do. They remain present with client while they process and face their fearful emotions. Therapists recognize that client is the expert of his/her own life and they won’t pretend to act otherwise.

Immediate solution of a problem
Therapy is long and active process. It takes time, patience and compassion to face and change long held dysfunctional thoughts, beliefs, behaviour and buried emotions.

What to expect
Anxiety
It is a normal to experience some anxiety when you first visit a therapist, which is a very natural reaction, after all, you are going to share very intimate details about yourself to a complete stranger. You will be able to share your problems freely once you establish a trusting relationship with your therapist.

Confidentiality
Therapist are ethically and legally responsible to honor confidentiality, which means whatever you share with your therapist during the session will remain confidential. The therapist cannot share anything you say with anyone without your consent.

Unexpected emotions
Therapy may bring many buried emotions to the surface and they can be shocking to some people. However, they are very natural part of the therapy process.

It gets worse before it gets better.

The experience of facing root cause of your problems, your imperfections and raw emotions can be unnerving and painful. In therapy, things will always get painful before they get better.



TYPES OF PSYCHOTHERAPY
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy is a type of psychotherapeutic treatment that helps clients learn how to identify and change dysfunctional and destructive automatic thought patterns and beliefs that negatively influence their emotions and behaviors. These irrational and maladaptive thought patterns and beliefs are believed to be contributing to emotional difficulties, depression, and anxiety.

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy helps clients identify, challenge and replace these irrational and unrealistic thoughts with objective and realistic ones. CBT is one of the most effective and widely used psychotherapy. It is used to treat a number of disorders such as depression, anxiety, OCD, panic disorders, it is also used to treat various psychological problems like anger, grief, couple or family problems. Lastly, CBT is also used to treat some medical problems with psychological components such as pain disorder, somatoform disorders, hypertension, chronic fatigue and insomnia.

Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is a procedure involving investigating unconscious mental processes through a method of free association. During free association, the client speaks contents of consciousness without any censoring or aid from the analyst to gain access to their unconscious mind. In other words, clients are encouraged to speak freely about whatever comes to their mind. The most

common problems treatable with psychoanalysis include: phobias, conversions, compulsions, obsessions, anxiety attacks, depressions, sexual dysfunctions, a wide variety of relationship problems and personality problems. 

Psychoanalysis is an expensive and long term treatment. Compared to other therapeutic techniques such as CBT, which usually lasts for weeks or months, psychoanalysis can go on for years. Psychoanalysis is a particularly good fit for those who want to develop a deeper understanding of themselves.

Behaviour Modification Therapy
Behavior modification is the process of changing patterns of human behaviour over the long term using various motivational techniques, mainly consequences (negative reinforcement) and rewards (positive reinforcement). The goal of Behaviour Modification Treatment is to replace problematic, or disagreeable behaviors with more positive, desirable behaviors. 

Behavior modification works very effectively with children, although it can be used with adults too. Behaviour Modification is used to treat disorders like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), irrational fears, drug and alcohol addiction issues, generalized anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).