Life Coach Training

Lesson 27

Coaching and Therapy

      As a life coach you will probably be asked (and ask yourself), “What is life coaching?”  and  “What’s the difference between coaching and therapy?”  In this lesson we will shed some light on these answers so you can be clear for yourself and respond accurately to others.

     There are many different forms of therapy and many styles of coaching. Here we will look at some of the broader differences, with allowance for philosophical and stylistic approaches within each realm.

1. Purpose of Coaching vs. Therapy

      The goal of therapy is often defined as problem solving or fixing what’s broken. The patient in therapy may be seen as fragmented and labeled with any number of disorders, some delineated by institutional manuals for the purpose of broad-based classification and insurance payments. In coaching the client is seen as a whole person who, while he may have issues to face and deal with, is on a positive journey of expansion and self-actualization.  The client is not an empty bucket to be filled, but a light to be shined.

      If a coach senses that a client is deeply troubled and may benefit more from a traditional therapeutic relationship, the coach should recommend to the client that she seek therapy rather than coaching. 

2. Roles of Coach and Client

      The therapist is often regarded as a problem solver, advice giver, or fixer, and the client is cast in the role of someone who needs an expert to tell him how to live. (Although self-actualization therapies transcend this paradigm.)  In coaching the client is regarded as having the answers within herself, and the coach’s purpose is to help the client elicit those answers and draw them into expression. 

      By analogy, in baseball a batting coach gives a batter feedback on his batting technique and may suggest modifications for improvement. But the batter must step up to the plate and hit the ball himself.  Using a football analogy, a life coach might serve as a one stands on the sidelines and inspires and cheers the runner on to make a touchdown. The runner, not the coach, is the one who goes out onto the field and makes the plays.

      In many traditional therapies, the therapist purposely does not reveal facts or experiences about her own journey and purposely maintains a distance between herself and the client. The coach regards himself as a peer to the client, and, when appropriate, shares his own experiences and elements of his personal journey.

4. Length of Relationship

      Many therapies run over a long period of time, some over many years.  Coaching can be as brief as one session or an agreed-upon number of sessions from, for example, 4-10.  Some therapists tend to want to keep patients coming back for therapy, while the coach seeks to encourage the client to fly with her own wings.

5. Format

      Most therapy is done in person. Most coaching is done via telephone.

      Each mode has advantages and disadvantages. In-person meeting gives the therapist or coach the opportunity for face-to-face connection, which builds trust more rapidly, lends itself to more intimate communication, and allows the coach or therapist to observe body signals from the client. Yet in-person meetings limit the geographical span of the therapist or coach’s client population.

      Phone coaching allows the coach to connect with a client from literally anywhere on the planet, but offers more of a challenge in that the coach is not in the physical proximity of the client.  It’s certainly possible to develop trust and intimacy over the telephone, but you have to work a little harder.

6. Certification

      Traditional therapies are generally strictly licensed by states, and therapists must complete rigorous educational requirements. 

      As a relatively new profession with goals that do not plumb the depth that therapy seeks to accomplish, there are no universally agreed-upon coaching requirements, and certification and licensing are not regulated by states.  Many individuals and organizations offer coaching certification, but they are as valuable as those who give them credence.

      The relative ambiguity of coaching certification bears both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that coaches can step into a practice without having to go through years of rigorous training and licensing procedures. The disadvantage is that some individuals and organizations offer quick-fix coaching certifications that do not really ensure the coach has sufficient training.

      Therapists are able to collect payment by insurance. Coaches cannot do this.

7. Forms of Use

      Therapists generally present their services as a profession or vocation unto itself.  Life coaches may do the same, or they may simply incorporate life coaching skills into another vocation. Such skills can be applied to nearly any profession, from real estate to hairdressing to vocational counseling. Some licensed therapists learn and use life coaching as an adjunct to their established practice.

8. Style and Content

      Both therapy and coaching have a wide range of styles and contents within their ranks, as unique as the therapists and coaches who employ them.  We will not go into the range of therapeutic techniques and tools here, but we will focus on a few basic approaches to life coaching.

      Some life coaches are very goal- and action- oriented. They encourage clients to set specific goals and delineate specific dates by which goals will be accomplished; and the coach serves to keep the client accountable and on track with their chosen goals.  Such coaches gravitate to coaching for business success or achievement of specific intentions such as weight loss.

      Other coaches tend to be more holistically oriented, inviting the client to use external goals as in index of internal awakening, focusing more on process, experience, and spirituality than content. They seek to assist clients to attain their material goals, but regard self-awareness, attitude, and inner peace as the real rewards behind logistical progress.

      Where you fit within the spectrum of the above approaches is entirely up to you. Your practice should be a reflection of your values and passion. Do not try to fit yourself into a mold that may work for others, but not you. As you will demonstrate to your clients, authenticity is your strongest asset.        

Conclusion

Both therapy and coaching have value depending on the needs of a client. A coach's services should remain within the domain of the issues and goals delineated above. As a life coach you can serve as an inspiration, help clients clarify their intentions and direction, and support them to achieve their chosen goals. A coach does not seek to fix what is broken, but seeks to expand upon what is working.

Exercise:

      If someone asked you, “What’s a life coach?”  or  “What’s the difference between life coaching and therapy?”  how would you answer them in your own words, according to your own understanding, and in alignment with your vision for your personal practice?