[chilly]

hi benjamin,
what's the difference between a counsellor and someone who uses counselling skills as part of their work and what are the limitations of the counselling skills worker. Cheers.

[Benjamin Fry]

Honestly I donít know. It is a bit of a mystery, like the difference between a psychiatrist, psychologist, psychotherapist, psychoanalyst, psychoanalytical psychotherapist and so on.

Although there are actual definitions (and working practices), the major difference that you will notice if you are in the room with any of these people is not their title, but their personality and their style of approach.

It is likely that the labels you refer to delineate a certain level of training or certification, or that they point to the range of the work undertaken by the individual. Without a more narrow context to your question I couldnít guess what the parameters might be.

The limitations of all people involved in helping others with nothing but their words are complex. They relate (in my opinion) mainly to the inner work that the practitioner has done on themselves. All the intellectual training in the world wonít help if the therapist has an emotional block. If you are looking for someone to help you, see as many as you can and judge on instinct. Then if you like ask for their qualifications to back up your decision.