1. Focus and Scope

• Counseling
  • Often focuses on specific issues or challenges in the present (e.g., stress, grief, relational conflict, transitions).
  • Shorter-term in nature, goal-oriented, and practical.
  • Emphasis is on guidance, support, coping strategies, and problem-solving.
• Therapy (or psychotherapy)
  • Broader in scope, addressing not only current issues but also deeper patterns, past wounds, and underlying emotional or psychological struggles.
  • Often longer-term.
  • Involves exploring root causes, personality, behavior patterns, and mental health conditions.

2. Depth

• Counseling: More surface-level, practical, and solution-focused.
• Therapy: Goes deeper into a person’s history, emotions, and thought patterns to bring long-term change and healing.

3. Issues Addressed

• Counseling: Career decisions, relationship advice, stress management, adjustment to life changes.
• Therapy: Anxiety, depression, trauma, unresolved grief, identity struggles, addictions, personality disorders.

4. Training & Credentials

• In the U.S., both counselors and therapists typically hold a master’s degree and are licensed (e.g., LPC, LMHC, LCSW, LMFT).
• Some contexts use the terms differently:
  • Counselors may be associated with guidance and support.
  • Therapists are often seen as working with mental health disorders in a clinical sense.
• In practice, many professionals hold both titles and do both.

So, where do I fall?

• Focus and Scope: I offer both—addressing present challenges while also being open to exploring patterns and deeper struggles.
• Depth: I work at both levels—providing practical strategies while also helping clients reflect more deeply when appropriate.
• Issues Addressed: I support clients with stress, relationships, grief, transitions, and spiritual direction. I do not treat trauma, addictions, or personality disorders.
• Training and Credentials: I hold a Master’s degree in Biblical Counseling. While I am not a licensed clinical counselor or therapist, my approach is rooted in Scripture and faith-based guidance with counseling principles.

At the end of the day, both counseling and therapy offer meaningful ways to find support and healing. What matters most is finding a safe space where you feel understood and encouraged. My heart is to walk alongside you, offering biblical wisdom, practical guidance, and a listening ear as you navigate life’s challenges.

If you’re carrying stress, grief, or relational struggles, you don’t have to carry them alone. I would love to walk with you in this season and help you find hope and clarity.

If you feel ready, reach out—I’d be honored to walk this journey with you.