Past tense of counsel in British English; gave advice, guidance, or professional therapeutic support to someone. (British spelling)
From counsel plus -ed (past tense marker), with British English retaining the double-L as counselled rather than American counseled.
The spelling difference between 'counselled' (British) and 'counseled' (American) is a perfect example of how the Atlantic created spelling divergence—both are perfectly correct depending on where you are!
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