Looking to understand the differences between psychotherapy and counselling (also spelt as counselling)?

At EASE Wellbeing, we use the terms counseling and talking therapy, psychological therapy and psychotherapy interchangeably.  Is there a difference between any of these?  

For our clients there is no difference as our approach to providing our service is consistent, is a human dialogue between two people.  One will be called the client and the other is trained or training in counselling and talking therapy. 

The training that we do and have done follows a number of theoretical and practical stances towards the process and that is where the different terms have emerged from.  However, once we are in a session with a client, the terminology is irrelevant and the process of giving and receiving help and the relationship that we create with our clients is paramount and outweighs the relevance of what name we give to the person who is designated as giving help. 

Historically, people have often thought that counselling is the giving of advice, psychotherapy is about talking about the past and so on.  At EASE Wellbeing, our focus is on the experience of each of our clients and the impact of that experience and each person’s response to that experience which will come from both experiences they have accumulated in the past as well as the aspirations that they have for the future.  

What is most important is that throughout life and in line with what people want for their lives, everyone inherits, collects and develops values, beliefs and attitudes towards experience, to themselves and towards others.