I've been in therapy for different reasons over the years. When I was seeking help with my marriage, the t gave specific things that she thought we ought to try between sessions. Then we would report back how it worked. She spent a little time discussing causes, but mostly focused on helping us learn new ways of behaving. We both found that when we acted differently, things improved in our marriage. Some of her suggestions were helpful, others not so much. But I don't feel like we lost anything by trying out what she said. She was very focused on behavioral changes. And those changes helped us feel better. It did involve admitting faults and flaws, but she didn't spend much time at all in figuring out the "why" of it, just went with the behavioral changes that might help. That therapy was very different from what I am doing now in therapy. The stuff I am doing now is body-based trauma work. That doesn't involve talking about where I can improve my life, but seeking to understand myself and my reactions, and then doing things to clear traumatic memories from my brain and body.

The difference between the two is so huge that it is hard to believe both are "therapy". Some people make a distinction between counseling and psychotherapy, and I believe that is probably a more accurate way to describe the two.