The role of professional counselor and social workers often overlap and appear to be similar in nature. The difference between a professional counselor and a social worker is that a social worker is trained to focus on how social problems and issues within a person’s environment cause psychological problems and impairments. Social workers address these problems by diagnosing and treating clients within a social context. Professional counselors can operate in a wide range of practices but their focus tends to be on helping people with emotional, cognitive, behavioral, or systemic issues by applying a variety of mental health, counseling, psychological or human development principles or theories. Professional counselors help people develop coping strategies in order to achieve wellness, personal growth or career development. Professional counselors tend to place more emphasis on mental health rather than mental illness. Professional counselors work to analyze and help client’s change their behaviors, attitudes, feelings and thoughts in order to make healthier choices and adjustments to life.