counseling

Counseling is a professional relationship in which a trained counselor helps individuals, couples, families, or groups address personal, social, or psychological concerns through dialogue and reflective techniques. It focuses on coping skills, decision making, and personal growth, with an emphasis on present concerns and future goals rather than long-term pathology. It is typically shorter-term and goal-oriented than psychotherapy, though there is overlap.

Counselors use a range of approaches, including psychodynamic, humanistic, cognitive-behavioral, and solution-focused modalities, tailored to the client's needs. Techniques include active listening, empathy, reflective responding, assessment, and collaborative goal setting. The modality chosen depends on training, client preferences, and evidence for the issue.

Common settings include schools, universities, community centers, private practice, clinics, and workplaces. Specializations include mental health counseling, school counseling, marriage and family therapy, career counseling, and grief or trauma counseling. Confidentiality and consent are central principles.

The counseling process generally involves intake and assessment, goal setting, ongoing sessions, skill-building, progress review, and termination. Ethical standards require professional competence, boundaries, cultural sensitivity, informed consent, and avoidance of dual relationships.

Training and regulation vary by country; in many regions practitioners hold master's degrees in counseling or related fields and are licensed or certified after supervision and examination. Evidence bases suggest counseling can reduce symptoms and improve functioning for many concerns, particularly when there is strong client-therapist fit and adherence to evidence-based practices.