is credit counseling/debt management plans the same as filing for bankruptcy?

[tlhead]

Everyone keeps saying it is!! But I don't want to have to close my accounts since closing accounts leads to lower credit ratings.And  if they put a notation in my credit report wont that lower my score and look like bankruptcy  and I don't want my credit score to stop me from getting an apartmet since i  want to move in 2013 to nyc.

[fused]

From a purely FICO scoring standpoint, using a credit counseling or a debt management company will not lower your FICO scores. If the company you hire doesn't manage your accounts well, that could lower your FICOs. Apparently, some creditors view consumers who use credit counseling or debt management companies as negatively as those who have filed for BK.