I want to share some important differences between psychological counseling and therapy that can tell you which way to go if you plan to seek psychological support. The article is addressed primarily to clients. If colleagues want to add anything, I invite you to comment!1. You can start from the direction. Approaches such as CBT and NLP work primarily in a consulting format. Transactional analysis, in which I work, the existential and person-centered approach and other areas where the relationship between the therapist and the client is one of the elements of therapy, is predominantly a long-term format. After all, the development of any relationship takes time.2. Consulting is working on a request in the “here and now.” In therapy, in addition to discussing the current context, we look into the past of a person, his family, study his life and family history. Example: a client cannot decide how to build relationships in a work team. In counseling, we will find out what causes particular difficulties, what attitudes prevent us from achieving the communication that is necessary, exercises will be used to practice skills that cause difficulties, and homework may be given. In therapy, we will study how things are going with relationships in general in the life of clients, are there similar patterns somewhere. Let's look at attachment style. Let's study what needs in relationships are not being met. We will work on thoughts, feelings, behavior and over time we will go deeper to determine which childish attitudes are currently interfering with him.3. Counseling is more about interpersonal relationships, while therapy is more about intrapersonal conflicts. In this case, initially the client may come with a request for interpersonal interaction, and over time allow an analysis of the internal causes of external events. The example above can also be considered to illustrate this point.4. Duration of work: consulting involves a shorter-term format. There are techniques (for example, FACT), where 1 session is allocated for 1 request, which can end even earlier than the standard timing if the client resolves his issue. In therapy, 5-10 meetings are an initial acquaintance, establishing contact between the therapist and the client. The duration of therapy in general can vary significantly depending on many factors, including personal structure, defense mechanisms, type of personality organization, and, of course, material capabilities. In Transactional Analysis there are conditional stages of work and we can move with the client from a more superficial elaboration deeper and deeper. All this takes time, because... It is important for the psyche to adapt to changes and build new neural connections. 5. In counseling, we largely fit the client’s request into one category or another: developmental psychology, family counseling, professional development, issues of marital relations. In therapy, we rely on the school in which we work, with its philosophical, theoretical and practical principles and explore our client’s meanings and experiences. The same request can often be resolved in both formats. Example: let's continue about work - stress when changing jobs: in counseling we can work on how the client can reduce pressure, what skills and resources he needs for this, try different techniques. In therapy, we will most likely explore how his past (and perhaps his family's past) prevents him from confidently moving up the career ladder, what prescriptions he has inherited, what life script he supports.6. Of course, at the beginning of therapeutic work we involve counseling, while we collect anamnesis, share information with the client, and develop his competence. We do not immediately dive into the depths, we respect his defenses, we act carefully and step by step. Remember that the most important thing is to be yourself, not to strive to be correct,.