DIRECTIVE AND LESS-DIRECTIVE COUNSELING ARE EXAMINED ON A THEORETICAL BASIS THROUGH THE CONCEPT OF LINGUISTIC RELATIVITY (LR). THE FOLLOWING ARE ASSUMED--(1) THE GOAL OF COUNSELING IN OUR SOCIETY IS INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM AND EMERGENCE, (2) DIRECTIVE COUNSELING, AN END IN ITSELF, GUIDES THE CLIENT TO PREDETERMINED ADJUSTMENT, AND (3) LESS-DIRECTIVE COUNSELING PRESERVES THE SOVEREIGNTY OF THE CLIENT BECAUSE ANSWERS CAN ONLY BE KNOWN BY THE CLIENT. LR IS CONCERNED WITH THE WAY LANGUAGES, PARTICULARLY VOCABULARIES, ARE INFLUENCED BY THE PHYSICAL AND SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT. SIMILARLY, PERCEPTION IS AFFECTED BY MENTAL SET. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR PEOPLE TO THINK AND PERCEIVE BEYOND THE BOUNDS OF THEIR LANGUAGE. CONSEQUENTLY, PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN DIFFERENT CULTURES SEE THE WORLD IN DIFFERENT WAYS. BY ANALOGY, INDIVIDUAL VERBALIZATIONS ARE SUBJECT TO A LAW OF INDIVIDUAL, LINGUISTIC RELATIVITY, DIFFERING ONLY IN DEGREE FROM CULTURAL LINGUISTIC RELATIVITY. DOUBT IS THUS CAST ON THE ABILITY OF THE DIRECTIVE COUNSELOR TO CLEARLY UNDERSTAND AND PROVIDE SOLUTIONS FOR INDIVIDUAL PROBLEMS. IN CONTRAST, LR AND LESS-DIRECTIVE COUNSELING ARE IN HARMONY BECAUSE THE COUNSELOR MERELY ACTS AS A CATALYST IN A PROCESS INTENDED TO ALLOW THE CLIENT TO UNDERSTAND HIS RELATIONSHIP TO LIFE. THIS ARTICLE IS PUBLISHED IN "PERSPECTIVES ON COUNSELING," VOLUME 1, NUMBER 1, SPRING 1966, AN OCCASIONAL JOURNAL PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE GRADUATE SCHOOL. (PR)