Psychotherapy and Counseling are professional activities that utilize an interpersonal relationship to enable people to develop understand about themselves and to make changes in their lives.  Professional Psychotherapists and Counselors work within a clearly contracted, principled relationship that enables individual to obtain assistance in exploring and resolving issues of an interpersonal, intra psychic or personal nature.

Although both Psychotherapists and Counselors work with a wide variety of clients, Psychotherapists are more likely to work very intensively, with more deeply disturbed individuals who are seen more frequently over a longer period of time.  Counselors are more likely to work in specific areas where specialized knowledge and method are needed (e.g. Marital and family counseling, bereavement counseling, school counseling, addictions counseling, HIV/AIDS counseling).  At advanced levels of training, Counseling has a greater overlap with Psychotherapy than at foundation levels.