Very often, people who are thinking about turning to a specialist in the field of psychology are confused about the terms: psychological counseling, psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, other types of “therapies”. And also: psychologist, psychotherapist, etc. The reason for this confusion, in my opinion, lies, first of all, in Russian legislation, since some issues are not regulated by it, while others contradict global practice. In most countries, psychotherapy is a long process regular meetings with a specialist, during which work is carried out on treating neuroses, resolving internal conflicts, reducing anxiety, improving understanding of oneself, one’s capabilities, one’s place in society, the world, etc. That is, we are talking about a certain type of activity. At the same time, the education of a specialist can be different (psychiatrist, psychologist and even a social worker). At the same time, in Russia there is a medical specialty “psychotherapist”: this is always a psychiatrist who also has additional psychotherapeutic education, and according to Russian legislation, he deals with psychotherapy it was he. Thus, in Russia a situation has arisen where there is therapy that is directly related to psychology, but it cannot be called psychotherapy. But since it still needs to be called something, a somewhat strange term “psychological counseling” arose and became established. The question may arise, why strange? From my point of view, counseling itself can be called a short process of interaction, during which the client is informed rather, an analysis of a specific life situation occurs, but not a process of personal change. To summarize, a psychotherapist is a psychiatrist who can treat both with pills and with words. Due to long medical education, he often prefers the first, although he can switch to psychotherapy entirely. Psychotherapy – literally, “treatment of the soul” – is a process aimed at achieving certain lasting changes in the psyche that would make the life of the client (patient) more comfortable .Psychological counseling: a) a synonym for psychotherapy, existing in accordance with the requirements of Russian legislation; b) the process of interaction with a specialist in the field of helping professions, which does not involve deep personal transformation, usually short-lived.