What Are the Different Types of Counselling?
There are a myriad of different types of counselling available. Even trained counsellors can struggle to understand all of them! So I have put together an introduction to the most common types of counselling. For the purposes of this article, I will call them all counselling but you may also find them described as therapy. The words counselling and therapy can be used interchangeably. My aim is to give you a jargon free summary as a starting point for when you start searching for a counsellor.
Humanistic Counselling: Focusing on You as a Whole Person
It would be easy to describe humanist counselling as simply a classic type of counselling where two people sit in a room and speak to one another but do it a disservice. This approach focuses on considering each individual as a whole human. It is client led so you decide what issues you want to work on and the counsellor’s role is to support you. A counsellor will help you explore different aspects of your issues, what their root causes are and how they affect your thoughts and behaviours. This type of counselling focuses on exploring who you are, how you can take ownership of the things which are causing you difficulty and taking your own responsibility for fulfilling your potential.
There are different types of humanist counselling including person centred, gestalt and transpersonal counselling.
Person centred is probably the one you are most likely to encounter. It is based on the concept that you are the expert of your life and the counsellor’s role is to listen and provide a non-judgemental, supportive space where you explore your thoughts, feelings and behaviour around the issues you want to work on. The counsellor will ask you questions and provide their reflections to help you gain greater self-awareness and develop your confidence in your own abilities to develop your own solutions. As a result, person centred counselling is particularly beneficial if you want to proactively use your own agency to explore your feelings and habits.
Gestalt focuses on present rather than past events so your counsellor will encourage an understanding of how you feel in the moment. The Gestalt Centre1 describes this type of counselling as “…a holistic process. It regards the individual as a totality of mind, body, emotions and spirit who experiences reality in a unique way.” Gestalt counselling is typically a more interactive process which can include role play, working creatively, working with your dreams and also working with your body. It is a way for you to become more attuned to sensations in your body and how they interact with your thoughts.
Transpersonal counselling is an additional form of humanistic counselling. It goes beyond working with mind and body to have a more spiritual focus. This is not necessarily religious spirituality. Transcendental experiences can help you gain greater understanding of yourself and progress with self-development.
Humanist counselling is valuable for a wide range of issues. These include anxiety, depression, relationship issues, addiction and low self-esteem on both a short and long term basis.
Cognitive and Behavioural Counselling: Changing Thoughts and Behaviours
These types of counselling do what they say on the tin. They focus on your cognition – how you think, reason and perceive things – and/or your behaviour. The most well known in this category is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) which widely available on the NHS. CBT places an emphasis on changing negative or irrational thoughts and unsuitable beliefs that are causing issues. You are encouraged to explore, test and replace these with more positive ones.
It can be effective for multiple issues including anxiety disorders, fears and phobias, depressive disorders and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Adaptations of CBT can help specific conditions e.g. CBET for eating disorders and trauma-focused CBT (TF-CBT). CBT is frequently used for a limited number of counselling sessions e.g., 6-10.
New types of counselling which have been influenced by CBT include Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT). ACT teaches individuals to use mindfulness and acceptance skills. These help you deal with difficult thoughts and feelings and take action based on the values that are important to you. DBT was created to provide support to clients with borderline personality disorder (BPD). It is also valuable for suicide ideation, self-harm and depression. Like ACT, it has a mindfulness element to it. However, it is are more directive approach which teaches individuals skills to cope with difficult thoughts and feelings.
Psychoanalysis and Psychodynamic Counselling: Exploring the Unconscious
Psychoanalysis explores how your childhood experiences have impacted on your life to date. It focuses on your conscious and unconscious thoughts and feelings. The counsellor will use different techniques such as observing patterns, interpretation and free association. Clients become aware of unconscious thoughts and beliefs so they can gain a greater understanding of themselves.
It can be valuable for anxiety, sleep issues, phobias, sexual issues and relationship problems. This is usually a long-term counselling process. It is not unusual for clients to work with their counsellors for years. A shorter term option is psychodynamic psychoanalysis which uses similar techniques but focuses on issues needing more immediate solutions.
It is also worth mentioning transactional analysis (TA) which crosses over between humanistic, cognitive-behavioural and psychodynamic counselling. TA explores how different aspects of your personality have arisen and how they impact your thinking and interaction with others. It can be used by counsellors who practice humanistic, cognitive-behavioural or psychodynamic approaches.
Creative Counselling: Expressing Yourself Without Words
You don’t have to be good at art to gain value from experiencing creative counselling. It can be a very valuable tool to help unlock things that someone is unable to put into words using creative materials and activities. Sometimes being able to visualise something on paper or use objects or activities to unlock associations can be really valuable.
Dedicated art therapists usually have a qualification in art or design in addition to undergoing specific training. Counsellors who work creatively usually have prior experience or have taken a specific course such as sand tray work.
Gestalt counsellors often use drawing or sculpting to help clients get in touch with what they are currently feeling. Sand trays used with objects and figurines are helpful for exploring conscious/unconscious feelings especially around grief and trauma.
Integrative/Eclectic Counselling: Combining Approaches to Suit You
You may come across counsellors who describe themselves as integrated, integrative or eclectic. This means they trained in different types of counselling which they combine depending on the unique requirements of their clients. Alternatively, they may have a main counselling specialism but use elements of other therapies depending on their clients’ needs. For example, I trained as an integrated counsellor and Person Centred counselling is the foundation of my style of working but I also Gestalt techniques, creative counselling, mindfulness and CBT in my work.
How to Choose the Right Type of Counselling for You
As mentioned at the beginning, this is really an introduction to some common types of counselling. There are other different types and combinations so my advice is to start by thinking about what you would like to achieve and what style appeals. You may also find my article Six things to think about before you work with a counsellor of use.
1 Gestalt Centre (2024). What is Gestalt? Retrieved from:
https://gestaltcentre.org.uk/what-is-gestalt/ [Accessed 29/04/2024]
