My mailbox receives more than a dozen letters for help every day, and some of them tend to have been repeatedly consulted in many hospitals or psychological clinics, and have been in great pain themselves for a long time, and their lives, jobs, families, etc. have been greatly affected, in which case, they should not just stay at the level of counseling, but should consider whether to receive further psychotherapy. This brings us to the difference between counseling and psychotherapy. The use of these two concepts is rather confusing nowadays, and sometimes I myself have to change between these two terms when talking to a visitor in order to communicate better with him or her. The purpose of psychological counseling is to clarify whether one’s mental state is healthy, i.e., to ask professionals whether one has a mental illness, including the initial diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, etc., similar to “asking the way”, how to go in order to The purpose of psychotherapy is to seek medical help from a professional when you already know that you are in an unhealthy or subhealthy state, and to receive treatment so that you can finally recover your health, similar to the process of “taking transportation” to your destination. 2.Different forms Most of the time, although both are interactive processes of asking and answering, psychological counseling focuses on the helper asking and the professional answering, which is suggestive, while psychotherapy focuses on the doctor asking and the helper answering or thinking, which is constructive. 3, the level of work is different The level of psychological counseling is superficial, often involving only anxiety, depression, pain and other symptoms, psychotherapy is a process from shallow to deep, from the symptoms gradually transition to the causes behind the symptoms, to provide the possibility of finally getting rid of pain. 4, the workload is different Due to the differences between the first three, psychological counseling often requires 1-5 interviews with doctors; while psychotherapy requires a dozen or even hundreds of interviews process. 5.The cost is different. “Ask for directions” type of counseling costs less, and some counselors also provide free help; while for the “transportation” type of psychotherapy requires payment. 6.Different qualifications of professionals For answering the question “Am I mentally healthy? What should I do? Will I be okay?” For answering psychological counseling questions, general counselors are able to do so, while when it comes to psychotherapy, psychotherapists who have undergone strict professional training and mastered psychotherapy techniques are required to operate. Although the two are different as described above, they are still closely related. Psychotherapy often begins with psychological consultation, i.e., for a fixed long course of psychotherapy, the beginning of psychological consultation is the beginning of psychotherapy, and the opposite is not true. Therefore, for those who are psychologically confused, if they are aware that their psychology is in a non-healthy state, they should not just stay at the “ask for directions” stage, but should choose the appropriate “transportation” and participate in psychotherapy. After all, it is your right to maintain your mental health.