Rethinking therapy: It’s not about advice

Instead of offering answers, therapy helps people shift perspectives—reframing thoughts to find clarity and meaning in everyday struggles.

When I first began studying counselling, I believed a therapist’s role was to provide advice and solutions to clients’ problems. I assumed that being helpful meant offering answers and guiding people toward what seemed like the most logical or healthy course of action. I innocently thought that a therapist was to be direct and suggestive.