I am using the terms interchangeably, although you may find that there are different definitions available in literature. In my experience, it is often difficult to ascertain where one stops and the other one begins when working with a client. In therapy, clients often discover that some of the issues that they had taken for granted come up and need dealing with, which requires deeper work.
I aim to offer every client a safe, confidential and supportive space where you can explore your innermost thoughts and feelings in the knowledge that you will not be judged. This lack of judgement is the main condition of a therapeutic space and it makes the therapeutic relationship different from any other relationship you have experienced before in your life as a family member, friend or colleague. In order to maintain the professional boundaries of our relationship I am bound by the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy Ethical Framework, which governs professional practice of counsellors and psychotherapists in the United Kingdom.
Depending on your reasons for seeking therapy, this experience may be literally a life changing one for you and it is paramount that you as a client feel safe enough to explore the issues, question yourself and increase your awareness of the distressing factors in your life, as well as ultimately resolve the problems for which you accessed therapy in the first place. This work can take any length of time, depending on the nature of the problem, your readiness to tackle the issue and your level of engagement in the process. Therapy can bring up all kinds of feelings within you, which I as a counsellor should be able to explore with you without any danger to yourself or others.
In recent years, there has been a huge growth in coaching, which has similarities as well as differences with therapy. In my practice, I integrate coaching strategies if the client finds them useful and therapeutic, based on the same ethical framework and fee structure I use with the counselling clients.
