Anyone can give you advice based on their own knowledge & experiences, what they know about you, or really, based on anything at all. A friend or acquaintance can listen to what’s going on with you & give advice, good or bad.
A counselor is educated in what makes people tick, & how to help them recognize & overcome the issues they’re having trouble with. There are many advantages to this over talking to a friend or acquaintance.
The counselor is getting paid to listen to you & help you work through it. You don’t have to worry that you’re boring them, or not listening enough to their problems, or that they may want to step back from your friendship because you talk about yourself & your problems too much. This is their job.
A friend is not obligated to keep the conversations private. You don’t have to worry that a counselor will gossip about the personal stuff you’ve talked about, they are bound by law to keep your information confidential. Also, a counselor has the education to help you discover what is bothering you & help you work through it. They know many approaches & techniques to assist you in that.