Counseling Psychology is a collaborative process between a client and a consultant, who both share the common goal of helping the client achieve positive changes in his or her life. The client may face various difficulties due to losing touch with his or her inner resources, such as values, strengths, interests, and goals. The consultant helps the client reconnect with these resources by using the metaphor of a journey, as proposed by James Bugental. The client embarks on a journey of self-discovery and self-actualization, guided by the consultant, who provides support, feedback, and encouragement. The consultant also helps the client develop and maintain healthy relationships with others, as they are essential for human well-being and growth.

A professional Counseling Psychologist has a variety of methods at his or her disposal, which have been proven to be effective by scientific evidence and practical experience. These methods are tailored to the specific needs and preferences of each client, and they aim to address the underlying causes and patterns of the client’s problems. Some of the methods that a Counseling Psychologist may use are:

• Gelstalt therapy: A holistic approach that focuses on the present moment and the client’s awareness of his or her thoughts, feelings, sensations, and actions.
• Ericksonian therapy and hypnosis: A flexible and creative approach that uses indirect suggestions, metaphors, stories, and trance states to facilitate change and healing.
• Psychodrama and role-playing game: An experiential approach that uses drama, action, and play to explore and resolve the client’s conflicts, emotions, and relationships.
• System arrangements: A systemic approach that uses spatial representations of the client’s family, social, or professional systems to reveal and transform the hidden dynamics and influences that affect the client’s life.
• Procedural psychology: A cognitive-behavioral approach that helps the client identify and modify the dysfunctional procedures or scripts that govern his or her behavior and emotions.
• Cognitive behavioral therapy: A rational and evidence-based approach that helps the client challenge and change the irrational beliefs and negative thoughts that cause distress and impair functioning.
• Psychoanalysis, Transactional, and many others: A psychodynamic approach that explores the unconscious motives, conflicts, and defenses that shape the client’s personality and behavior.

A professional Counseling Psychologist selects the most appropriate method for the client based on two main criteria:

1. The Counseling Psychologist’s own training and competence in the method.
2. The suitability and effectiveness of the method for the client’s specific situation and goals.

If the client has any reservations or objections about a certain method, the Counseling Psychologist tries to understand the reasons behind them and explain the benefits and rationale of the method. If the client still refuses to try the method, the Counseling Psychologist respects the client’s choice and either proposes a different method or refers the client to another consultant who may be more suitable.

Counseling Psychology values the client’s openness and honesty. The Counseling Psychologist’s task is to provide the client with all the relevant and useful information that he or she needs to make informed decisions and achieve positive outcomes.

The further process of Counseling Psychology resembles a combination of research and training. The consultant and the client work together to discover and understand the origins and nature of the client’s problems, and the consultant teaches the client the skills and strategies to overcome them. When the counseling sessions end, the client has gained new insights, abilities, and tools that he or she can apply in everyday life as needed.

This is how the process of Counseling Psychology unfolds - gradually and progressively, in which the client, through examining himself or herself and his or her life events, finds something valuable that he or she can incorporate into his or her life, to achieve greater inner harmony and stability in the face of the challenges and changes of life. Experience shows that when a person changes, the world around him or her also changes. We are all part of different processes, and everything is interconnected and interdependent in the process. Changes in one part lead to changes in the whole system.