Do I have to bleach my hair to highlight it?

I have black/ dark brown hair and I want to highlight it either carmel or blonde, my mom is freaking out saying the lady can't bleach it, she said she's done it a million times without bleaching it and it's come out okay. Is that true? Can I highlight my hair without bleaching it?Do I have to bleach my hair to highlight it?
It is physically IMPOSSIBLE to highlight hair withought using bleach. She may use other names for it like hi-lift color or lightener but it is still bleach. You cannot make hair lighter without bleaching it. The opposite though, is called lowlights, which means you go darker.Do I have to bleach my hair to highlight it?
To get it that blonde, es, you will need to use bleach. It is possible for color to lift NATURAL (never chemically treated) hair a little bit and give very subtle highlights, but for the colors you are thinking it would need to be bleched. If you go to a professional stylist they will be able to do the least ammount of damage and be able to give you treatments to minimize the damage. There is no way she got highlights without bleach unless like I said only went a shade or 2 lighter on virgin hair with color.