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Counselling has been defined as "the process involving interpersonal relationships between a counsellor and one or more clients by which the former employs psychological methods based on systematic knowledge of the human personality in attempting to improve the mental health of the latter" (Paterson 1959).
 The counsellor attempts to promote voluntary change in the client by assessing the ievel of functioning of the client and implementing strategies designed to effect the desired change. The strategies employed (which are described in a later section) depend on the goals of the client and on the theoretical orientation of the counsellor but usually do not involve strategies that a fay person might use, such as the giving of advice and recommendations, admonishing, compelling or threatening. As a process, counselling is similar in many respects to psychotherapy and guidance.

The term counselling is also used to designate the profession of counselling. Counselling is one of the helping professions, others of which include clinical psychology, guidance, psychiatry, and social work.