Therapy/counseling and coaching both endeavor to assist people with making changes for a happier and more fulfilling life. While the structure and approach are different, both are valid methods of making personal change. The fundamental differences between working with a counselor or therapist and working with a coach are:
Therapy/Counseling
Conducted in person, therapy/counseling provides a safe and nurturing environment in which a person can:
- Seek to understand the “why” of a given situation
- Resolve internal conflicts
- Resolve relationship conflicts
- Release difficult emotions
- Examine familial and relational patterns
- Discover how the past remains alive in the present
- Grieve a loss
- Delve into the personality
- Find meaning in life
- Learn new communication skills
- Increase functioning in any given area of life
- Deal with mood, anxiety, or other diagnosable disorders
Coaching
Conducted on the phone or in person, coaching provides a dynamic, action-oriented environment in which a person can:
- Engage in a partnership for the purpose of enhancing and balancing life
- Focus on the present with an orientation toward future achievement or a new way of being
- Assess the “large picture” of one’s life, examining career, relationships, marriage, play, spiritual growth, and health
- Discover and focus on passion, vision, purpose, and values
- Increase awareness of and find solutions to roadblocks to successful living
- Create goals and plans to further any aspect of life
- Receive gentle accountability for commitments to action
- Expect honest and direct feedback
- Find external solutions for internal or external challenges