About counseling and therapy. My opinion and feelings are based on experience, reading, and conversations with colleagues. These two concepts go side by side in the practice of a psychologist. Consultation or therapy?...is there a difference in this...for me, yes, it’s noticeable. Often a request comes from parents, asking them to understand or provide help in a particular situation with a child. And we start...we start the process with counseling. I get to know the child and the family. And they are with me...I'm trying to understand what's happening. What influences behavior, child syndrome. Sometimes one extensive consultation is enough, sometimes more time is needed. Then we meet with the parents, I give recommendations, discuss ways out... and that’s it. How much parents will take, how much they use in real life, how much something will change... I don’t know. It happens that we still meet with the child. 5-10 meetings... the situation becomes clearer, something is changing in the child’s behavior. We can end here...And this is counseling for me. I offer a therapeutic process based on professional feelings, whether the child needs to go further to therapy with me, or the parents can handle it themselves. The last word belongs to the parents. And I respect their decision. Consultation is to understand what is happening and outline solutions. Something, even have time to do something...Now many wise, understanding, and widely read parents come to me. Often they understand the significance of therapy for the child, and agree. We can negotiate a contract and begin. We begin the magic of the therapeutic process. And for me, this is magic. And this is not a set of methods and techniques... it is a relationship. This is therapy for the soul, and it does not require haste. Sometimes we can play, draw, sculpt, and sometimes we can just sit on the floor and talk, get angry, cry, be sad and be happy. I watch how in the process the child becomes himself, relaxes, trusts me more, brings stories of his life... about the death of a hamster, a quarrel with a friend, a grudge against a teacher... he learns to live through it, take credit for victories, deal with feelings. Parents begin to feel and understand the child. We all work: therapist, child, parents, family system... The magic of therapy is a process when, as a result of experience, new sensations, new neural pathways appear. New means a new experience of healthy relationships that a person will carry throughout his life. Experience that he can draw on later. Emotional intelligence develops, understanding of oneself and others comes. Yes...I’ll probably be sad now...but high-quality therapy for a child takes 2-4 years. I view this as an investment in a child's future...as an investment in education and therapy. Everything is important... both a profession and a healthy personality... About adults... For me, this is definitely long-term therapy. These are meetings with a therapist once a week. It may be different for you... these may be one-time meetings in the format of consultations. Upon request, when there is a need. Or you can embark on the path of a long-term process. And this is where the high begins, the high of regaining your life. It definitely won’t be simple, it certainly won’t make your life easy. But the fact that your life will become yours, conscious living will appear, integrity, adulthood, stability, freedom will gradually come... the Real You will come into your life. Isn't that the point? People come to therapy in different ways... but they remain brave. There remain those who understand the full value of themselves and the value of what is happening to them. Yes, it is sometimes difficult... yes, it is financially expensive... but it is the best investment in yourself. Believe me.