Part of the series Counselling: What It Is — And What It Isn’t.
The Magic of Counselling ·
What Happens During Counselling? ·
A First Session ·
Therapy vs Counselling
People often ask me:
“So… counselling or therapy — what’s the actual difference?”
It’s a good question — and not just a technical one.
The difference says a lot about how we see people.
Whether we’re fixing them — or sitting beside them.
Whether we diagnose, or listen.
Whether we aim to cure, or to truly care.
The Swiss Association for Counselling (SGfB) wrote about this distinction, sometime mid-2025: click the image for it to popup up on your screen.
The essence is this: therapy aims to cure mental illness, counselling seeks to help people with the ups and downs of normal human life: grief, breakups, stress, periods of prolonged sadness, family strains, etcetera.
What is Therapy?
These days, therapy is often understood as a way to fix a problem.
In medical settings, it’s about healing — curing an illness, closing a wound.
In mental health, it means treating symptoms like depression, anxiety, or trauma.
The goal is often efficiency: treat it, solve it, move on.
But many people find that even after short-term results, the deeper patterns often return. The pain underneath hasn’t really moved.
In ancient times, therapeia meant something else: not cure, but care.
The focus was on tending to the person — listening deeply, honouring their story, and respecting the problem as something with meaning, not just something to eliminate (a while back I wrote the post “Soul Therapy vs Heroic Therapy” as another way of looking at this theme)
In Switzerland and many other countries, “therapy” is also a protected title.
Only clinical psychologists are allowed to call themselves therapists.
Their work often involves diagnosis and treatment based on psychiatric models.
But human experience doesn’t always fit those boxes — and psychiatry still can’t fully explain where anxiety or depression come from: the medical model can medicate, but is quite in the dark as to the deeper causes).
What is Counselling?
Counselling doesn’t begin with diagnosis.
It begins with relationship.
Where therapy might talk about “patients,” counselling speaks of clients — people who bring not just symptoms, but stories.
People shaped by upbringing, culture, bonds, heartbreaks, and longing.
People who want more than symptom relief — they want to feel more alive, more whole, more real.
Counselling pays attention to meaning, context, and connection.
It looks at how issues sit inside a bigger story:
- Where did this belief start?
- What does this pain ask of you?
- What values are being threatened?
- What kind of life are you trying to live?
A good counsellor doesn’t give advice or fix you.
They walk beside you as you learn to hear yourself more clearly.
The choices you make stay yours — always.
The Difference That Matters
To me, the difference between counselling and therapy isn’t just technical — it’s personal.
You’re not a diagnosis.
You’re not a problem to fix.
You’re a full human being, shaped by your experiences, your longings, and the meaning you make from it all.
Counselling meets you there — in the whole of who you are.
It holds space not just for what hurts, but for what still matters:
Your strength. Your dreams. Your fear. Your hope.
Your pain, and your capacity to feel joy again.
Whether you’re searching for relief, clarity, or a deeper sense of self — it helps to know which kind of support fits you best.
A note on professional recognition in Switzerland
In Switzerland, psychotherapy and counselling are regulated differently.
I am recognised by the SGfB (Swiss Association for Counselling), which sets national standards for professional counselling.
Psychotherapy is typically covered by basic insurance (OKP) with a medical referral.
Unfortunately, counselling is not routinely reimbursed via supplementary insurance. Any contribution depends on the individual insurer and policy conditions.
If insurance coverage matters to you, it’s best to check directly with your insurer.
Part of the series Counselling: What It Is — And What It Isn’t.
The Magic of Counselling ·
What Happens During Counselling? ·
A First Session ·
Therapy vs Counselling
If you’re wondering whether to seek counselling or therapy, this post unpacks the difference — in plain language, and grounded in real-world care.
On these other pages I wrote about distance counselling or individual counselling. Elsewhere I wrote about various sources of inspiration for my own counselling practice.
