FAQs about counseling, coaching, psychotherapy, and finding therapy in Ventura, CA

Looking for therapy can be overwhelming in any city. With so many options, how will you know what type of provider to choose when seeking support? If you are struggling to decide if counseling, coaching, or therapy in Ventura is the right option for you, I’d like to help. Beyond the type of service, you may be considering options in cost, meeting in person versus online therapy, personality fit, and the logistics of fitting therapy, counseling, or coaching into your schedule.            

What is therapy? 

Therapy is a supportive relationship between two people, the therapist and you, the customer. Therapy is often long-term, lasting a few months to a few years, and provides an opportunity to explore thoughts, feelings, beliefs, history, and desires for the future with someone trained in counseling psychology and in a variety of approaches and methods to help you reach your goals. A therapist can help you heal trauma, understand and overcome mental health challenges like anxiety and depression, and help you gain a new perspective on your life and past.

What is counseling? 

Counseling and therapy are often used interchangeably, but there is a subtle difference between the two. Counseling is focused on resolving a primary current issue. Counselors tend to focus on a particular area of life, like career counseling, marriage counseling, or addiction counseling. While therapists and psychotherapists are more concerned with you and your healing than a particular area of your life.

What about coaching?

Coaching is a distinctly different field from both counseling and therapy. There is no required education to become a coach, and there is no regulating board. While therapists can offer coaching, coaches are not legally allowed to provide counseling or therapy. 

What about LPCCs, LCSWs, LMFTs, Psychologists, etc.? Which is best for me?  

Important distinctions between these licenses impact what each provider can and can’t offer in their work with you.  Fortunately, these distinctions are the practitioner's responsibility to manage. But in case you’re curious about what all those letters mean, here you go: An LPCC is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor in California, an LCSW is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and an LMFT is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. These three licenses require a master’s degree and a similar amount of time to gain clinical practice to become licensed. A psychologist has a master’s and a doctorate and has completed additional years of education and training to receive this license.

Ultimately, finding the right fit, someone who can help, is most important. Therapy in Ventura is more than just venting, although it is helpful to express thoughts and feelings out loud. Therapy is about experiencing understanding and care as you nurture yourself or the areas of your life that are causing you pain. Therapy can support you in reaching your goals and finding new options for living that you didn’t know were possible before.

I hope this article has helped answer some questions about finding therapy in Ventura and what to consider when considering providers with different credentials. In my practice helping parents and individuals struggling with anxiety, I offer a supportive environment that builds trust to help clients heal from childhood experiences in which parents or caregivers were emotionally immature, inconsistent, or even volatile. If you are a parent and discovering that some of the difficult things you experienced as a child are surfacing in raising your own children, you are not alone. This is normal and common, and although it can be frustrating and confusing, it offers a valuable opportunity to bring healing to parts of you that still need care and support. Reach out today if this is familiar and see how relational therapy can help you find more peace, alignment, and confidence in parenting and in life in general.