What is the difference between "counseling", "therapy", and "hypnosis" in your opinion?

why and how so?

Thanks for your answers!

I think of therapy as a long-term thing and something that involves psychiatric knowledge as well as psychological knowledge to help a person deal with problematic behaviour or thoughts. I think of counselling as more short-term and less in-depth/probing. It may involve looking less at childhood development/experiences of the individual and the client may not have problematic behaviour or thoughts and may just need support dealing with a present problem in their lives - so it may be more about environmental factors than individual factors. I think of hypnosis as involving neither therapy or counselling and maybe not even psychology. Btw, I'm not an expert or qualified and I know very little about psychology.

Counseling:
Professional guidance of the individual by utilizing psychological methods especially in collecting case history data, using various techniques of the personal interview, and testing interests and aptitudes.

Therapy:
Treatment especially of bodily, mental, or behavioral disorder.

Hypnosis:
A trancelike state that resembles sleep but is induced by a person whose suggestions are readily accepted by the subject.

All three of these techniques are separate, unique, and each requires specified training. I'm not sure what you want answered in your question. If you asking which one is the method I am involved in myself, it would be therapy.

I am not sure if practically speaking there is much difference between counseling and therapy, except that the qualifications are different. I say practically speaking because people colloquially use the terms interchangeably. However, counseling can be much broader and does not necessarily mean "therapy", in the sense that you have a psychiatric or psychological diagnosis. For example, you could see a counselor for employment advice or changing your career or educational counseling. Therapy seems to imply you have some psychiatric or psychological problem and need treatment. Usually people use the term "therapy" as shorthand for "psychotherapy" which requires that it be provided by either a psychologist or psychiatrist (Ph.D. or MD respectively). Some schools give a PhD in Counseling Psychology, which muddies the waters more.
Hypnosis is not the same as hypnotherapy. Hypnosis can be part of therapy, but then it is expected to be given by a licensed psychologist. A hypnotist can be anyone trained in hypnosis. A hypnotist may provide treatment for behavior change, like smoking cessation, weight-control, and even improving memory. Some states regulate it and some states don't, but most center of hypnosis are at least regulated by the consumer protection agencies of states.
I hope this helps.

Counseling may help one or more people in a relationship deal with current life events and situations in a way that can ease tensions and anxieties and resolve conflicts.

Therapy would deal more with psychic traumas (past or present) and assist the person receiving therapy with processing them to become whole again.

Hypnosis deals with the subconscious experiences and thoughts that may not be accessible in the other two forms of treatment.

now i know what counselling is for definet iv been there after i tryed to top myself it worked twice but the medics would'nt let me go. counselling is a mild form of therapy it is very much in depth because you talk about alot of things.therapy is more on the physchotic side of things even though it does cover the field of counseling if a therapist thinks that you may need physatrick treatment they can offical get you signed into a mental hospital thats why i aint been to see a therapist.now hypnosis is exactly the same as therapy but they put you into a trancelike state of mind so that they can understand exactly what it was you went through in depth with your feelings and emotins come out and you have no control over it but when you awake from it you can't remember anything that has happened during in the time you were under hypnosis.might i added that all three methods are expensive if done privately but with you want some one to talk to who will listen then you know how to get hold of me.

Convincing intruding merging may loosely fit in those three words in terms of your interaction with a psychologist