I was playing about with the Google Trends tool recently. Google Trends allows you to compare search terms and is helpful when trying to work out which keys words are likely to deliver traffic and which ones are not.
I have to confess to being stunned by the results when comparing counseling versus Life Coaching. I realized that the term ‘counseling’ would be more heavily searched, but I wasn’t prepared for the actual figures.
For every one person searching for a Life Coach, 20 people were searching for a counselor.
Are there really 20 times more people in need of a counselor than a Life Coach?
Quite frankly, I don’t just doubt that I think it’s flat out nonsense. Let’s presume I’m right and the stats are massively out of kilter, what does that tell us?
Firstly, that awareness of life coaching and what it can offer it still very much in its infancy. I have posted before; the question I get asked most frequently is,
“What does a life coach do?”
I’m not just talking about at social events or networking either, these are people that call me after visiting my website!
So I often spend a good proportion of the initial phone call explaining what coaching has to offer so that the caller is clear as to whether it meets their specific needs.
Anybody that has spent time working in sales will tell you that its difficult enough selling a known product. That difficulty is magnified exponentially when you have to almost create the need for the product through education at the same time.
Counselors don’t have that problem. Pretty much everybody knows what a counselor and/or psychiatrist does. Or probably more accurately, pretty much everybody thinks they know what a counselor or psychiatrist does.
Let’s face it we’ve seen enough of them in movies and on TV to get a handle on the services they offer. Even if the reality is somewhat different, it doesn’t really matter because the barriers are already down.
Another advantage that counselors have is the fact that no insurance companies (that I know of anyway) will foot the bill for somebody visiting a life coach. Whereas a referral to a mental health practitioner is a different matter altogether and many people are covered to a greater or lesser extent for such an eventuality
The financial element is obviously very important to people, but in an ideal world it shouldn’t be the overriding factor. Unfortunately though, we don’t live in an ideal world and some people simply don’t have the cash to spend on Life Coaching even if it were the most desirable option.
I have had numerous clients over the years that had previously spent months and sometimes even years undergoing counseling (my record to date is a woman that had been in therapy for over 20 years. I’m not sure at what point she thought it wasn’t working).
Some benefited substantially, others less so, and some not at all. I’ve had clients referred to me by counselors and similarly, I have referred clients on if I thought counseling or psychiatric help was more appropriate to their needs.
So what are the main differences between counseling and Life Coaching?
I don’t believe there is a definitive answer because it will depend heavily on the working models adopted by the counselor or coach as well as their levels of competency. However, we can generalize to give a better understanding.
Counselors deal with a lot of clients that have been advised (usually by their family doctor) they need counseling services.
Life Coaching clients usually choose to hire a coach of their own volition.
Counseling will often look to the past to deal with issues. This can be time consuming, occasionally stressful for the client and by no means always necessary.
Life Coaching is solution and goal driven with the desire to help move the client as quickly as possible to where they want to be.
Counseling is not a quick fix and can last many months, even years.
Life Coaching can be a quick fix especially when working with fears and phobias, although they normally require the coach to have a working understanding of NLP and/or Hypnotherapy.
Note: My average client spends about 6 sessions with me and unless it’s long-term goal setting and accountability I seldom work with a client for more than 10 or 12 sessions although that is not necessarily the same for all coaches.
Counseling usually requires the belief that there is something ‘wrong’ with the patient.
Life Coaching helps people from the starting point that they’re not broken in the first place.
Counseling tends to zone in on specific target areas or problems.
Life Coaching takes a more holistic approach and looks at the person as a whole and without any preconceptions of what is wrong.
Counselors are equipped to deal with people suffering from mental illness.
Life Coaches should never be dealing with clients that have a diagnosed mental illness. Unless that is, it’s with the full knowledge and approval of the medical person dealing with the case.
Note: I have worked with clients referred by medical health practitioners many times using NLP intervention techniques.
As well as the above, there is a different dynamic in the working relationship between a counselor or psychiatrist/psychotherapist and their patient than between a Life Coach and their client. The latter is much more a shared partnership with the coach being seen as a friend, partner, mentor, confidante etc.
As a coach I like to challenge and push my clients and in return I like to do the same to them. This aspect is somewhat muted between a patient and counselor with the relationship being more like that between a doctor and patient with the doctor being seen as an expert and not to be challenged.
I believe that anybody and everybody can benefit from coaching. It’s a cliché I know, but some of the greatest people on earth employ coaches and I’m not jus talking about in the field of sports either. Anybody can benefit from even a 1% improvement in his or her life and coaching can supply that, Counseling on the other hand is really only relevant to a minority of people with certain issues.
Hiring a coach or going to a counselor is not a sign of weakness; it’s a sign of strength. It means you understand you’re not an island and that there are people who can you help you in whatever it is you want to achieve. You only get one shot at life and I’d encourage you to make sure you make the most of it.
I’d love to hear from anybody here that has an opinion on this. I know I am somewhat biased (which is why I’m a Life Coach and not a counselor), so tell me if you disagree.
Tim Brownson is a Certified Life Coach and has been unsticking people and helping them reach their true potential since 2005. If you would like to know how he can help you
The main difference I have seen between the two is personality. Counselors are much more clinical in approach, where life coaches make it more of a personal affair. When you go to a counselor they look up your “symptoms” in the DSM, and apply approach accordingly- that one size fits all approach is bound to fail at least 40% of the time! I am looking forward to joining you on the 2nd.
Jays last blog post..The Power of No
Tim,
I’ve seen life coaching sites and such, but never spent much time on any of them, figuring I knew what the gist was. Well, I spent some time here this afternoon and you shed a lot of light and opened a few doors for me.
I subscribed via email because I want to continue the learning process, and learn it here.
Cheers
George
Tumblemooses last blog post..If writing content is king
From what I’ve seen, traditional counseling focuses on the “what” while life coaches focus on the “how”. I think it is possible and sometimes preferable for the two to co-exist in a person’s support network.
zenlcs last blog post..Taming the Mental Committee
Hi Tim,
I believe counseling and life coaching share similarities but have one major difference: power.
When people seek a counselor, they generally feel some part of their life has become unmanageable, whether that’s transcending traumatizing experiences, being in health relationships, or dealing with negative behaviors. People seek a counselor to work on some component of their mind because they feel powerless to it.
People generally come to coaching from a place of empowerment, not weakness. It isn’t about fixing a problem; it’s about improving a masterpiece.
Based on that logic, I’d guess some people may need to see a counselor before they hire a life coach. Once you can sit with yourself and your life exactly how it is, you’re fully equipped to see just what you can accomplish in this world.
Lori
Loris last blog post..BeMeaningful: @runnerchiq Me, too. I think I’ll check that one out every morning, actually.
Based on my uniformed gut opinion, I’d be likely to seek a counselor if I felt I had some sort of problems affecting my mood or emotional behavior. A coach would be more for if I were embarking on something positive and wanted help in getting myself in a winning frame of mind.
I don’t really know all that much about coaching or counseling though, and I don’t know anyone personally who has used one. That would seem to indicate that most people only have a very limited and stereotypical knowledge of life coaches. Until I started reading your site and read your book, I admit I thought it was kind of a silly thing but now I can see the value and it is something I’ll take advantage of when time/money is available, no matter how many roll-eyes I get from my husband. ;-)
Based on my counseling experience (as a counselee, not a counselor), I’d say this post makes sense to me. Counselors should generally be working with people who are broken…perhaps through trauma, perhaps through mental illness and who have a long road ahead of them. They shouldn’t attempt to prolong that road (I spent less than a year in therapy, some people need more of course), but they have to accept it as a possibility. Mental illness is like any other long-term illness. Some people bounce back quickly and others have lots of relapses or just get better slowly.
BUT after I was out of therapy, I began to see all the places where the skills I’d learned (cognitive behavioral) helped me with the sort of problems and neuroses that I had completely unconnected to my depression. I thought it was a pity I hadn’t learned them younger. I also wondered if they might have prevented or helped me alleviate parts of my depression.
I think that’s where life coaches are the most valuable…I think that they should provide encouragement and practical methods that help people positively move past their blocks and into success. So they don’t have to go into the root of a fear, just ways to overcome it…because hopefully the fear hasn’t led to mental illness or anything. I expect that in some cases the skills would be similar to ones I learned in therapy.
Ruths last blog post..What Are You Valuing More Than Your Goal?
Thanks for this post. One thing I would add is that, although some see coaching as something the mental health profession doesn’t respect or recognize, there are actually many people with advanced degrees in psychology who have transitioned into coaching because they prefer the type of work involved and their skills as therapists make them a natural fit. (My own coach is one of them.)
Chris Edgar | Purpose Power Coachings last blog post..Puffins Are Adorable (And Why This Matters)
Tim:
I so hear you on selling an unknown service. Professional Organizing is even younger than coaching as a profession and when I owned my Organizing business I spent almost all of my marketing efforts educating people on what Organizing was and what benefits people would get from hiring an Organizer.
It was exhausting and left little room for contact-to-client conversion.
Cheers,
Alex
Alex Fayle | Someday Syndromes last blog post..Traveling light: learning what things mean to us
There seems to be some sweeping generalisations here about counselling, which you acknowledge, however they appear quite unhelpful to me. First of all, counselling, psychotherapy and psychiatry are all different with a different focus. Counselling and therapy are (almost) equally likeley to look to the present or the future as opposed to the past – it depends on the counsellors training. Counselling and therapy can be solution focused and goal focused (e.g. solution focused therapy or any other modality of brief therapy) and can include NLP (nlp therapy is becoming increaingly common and practicesd by registered counsellors and psychotherapists). Counselling should always be about a shared relationship,one of respect and emapthy. As for counselling and ‘symptoms’ (see other comments) – although that’s not out of the question, it’s probably more likely of a psychiatrist to do that -counselling and psychotherapy doesn’t follow a medical model – psychaitry does.
Tim,
unless on 2nd Februar you’re going to talk at Google Trends, you’ve to correct that link.
ciao
alex
Hi Tim. I think you did a great job of explaining this. Until people experience life coaching they’ll never truly know what it is. It really is just about practice. An athlete works with a coach to perfect their playing skills, a person works with a life coach to practice their living skills.
Davinas last blog post..Shopping for Effective Attitudes
@ Jay – I actually hadn’t thought about the personality type, but now you mention it, it does make an element of sense.
@ George – Thanks man! Hope you have fun whilst you’re learning.
@ zenlc – I think in a lot of cases co-existing is a great idea. OTOH sometimes it’s completely unnecessary. I know I have been part of some great results when working (virtually) side-by-side with counselors.
@ Lori – Another good point and I think more often than not what you say is true. Having said that, I actually told a client she the other day that I didn’t think she needed counseling. Not sure what the relevance of that is ;-)
@ Tracy – I think that’s a good gut instinct. Of course there will be many exceptions but i concur to a greater degree. I do know that I can help people lift their mood, but agree that they’re more likely to approach a counselor of therapist for that.
@ Ruth – What a great point about wishing you had those skills earlier and that is really important because I think as you allude to, that’s what coaching can give people. Good coaches can show people tools that will allow them to be more able to deal with life problems as they arise. Rather than letting small issues develop into life changing severe ones.
@ Chris – You bring up something that is important too. A LOT of counselors and MHP in general are moving into coaching here in the US. Is that because they are more suited?
On the whole I don’t think so. I think it has a lot more to do with after years of kicking against coaching and hoping it would go away (mainly because it didn’t require 7 years of learning), they have realized that it isn’t going anywhere.
Furthermore the red tape they have to jump through (mixed metaphor alert!) to get paid by insurance companies is time consuming and expensive. Thus they have seen coaching become more successful and think “I’ll have some of that” and to be fair, why not?
@ ALex – LOL, yeh I can imagine that was 10x more difficult than what I’m doing. At least people know what a coach is.
@ Michael – Thanks a lot for diving in and disagreeing! I want to be able to use this post as a reference point for potential clients. In fact I almost didn’t even open comments up, but I’m glad I did now. I may also edit it and add material as time goes by.
It was a hugely generalized post and has to be when I’m working to under 1200 words. It is also heavily tilted toward coaching and that reflects my own personal biases.
I don’t disagree with a lot of what you say although my experience is that nothing like half of MHP are goal oriented but that’s neither here nor there.
I know that many now use NLP and I’m grateful they do. However it was the psychotherapists and counselors that initially ridiculed it. Mainly because they didn’t understand it and it wasn’t mainstream enough for them (few industries are as stuck in their ways as the mental health industry).
NLP got pilloried and called everything from witchcraft to a pseudo-religion. 10 years ago you’d have been more likely to have proved alchemy than found a psychiatrist using NLP. And therein lies some of the problem imho. A reluctance to or fear of change and a reluctance to accept that there may be better ideas out there that still plagues the MH industry.
Good points though Michael, thanks.
@ Alexander – Thanks a lot, that’s now sorted. Of course Google Trends are bitterly disappointed I wont be chatting with them ,but there you go.
@ Davina – Thanks a lot and I agree that people need to have that direct experience. I offer my first session on a pay me if you want to continue basis. It can last anything up to 90 minutes and really gets into what coaching is all about. In the 3 years I have done that, only 4 people haven’t wanted to continue. I know it’s only 4 because I locked them all in the cellar and have told them they can’t come out until they change their mind. The wife is livid because one of them has taken to wearing her wedding dress.
Nice work Tim, well said, even though our training is different my experience mirrors your own.. I’m sure our fellow coaches would appreciate this clarity shining article.
I was so pleased to see that you included this point.
“Hiring a coach or going to a counselor is not a sign of weakness; it’s a sign of strength.”
Tim,
I love your sense of humour
As a “big picture” addict, I find the use of a coaches perspective v. a counselor in a life driven frame.
I have sat with the very proprietor of this fine e-stablishment, and honestly did not know what to expect from our meeting. Other than laughing a bunch, one thing became crystal clear about what a coach does. He gives us tools. Tools for better living.
Consider us all climbing a mountain (life). No two people have the same skills, terrain to cover, or goals in climbing, but we are all up here just the same. The coach is the guy on the rope that swings around the mountain, stopping to show us a cool grab or foothold. Hes the guy who shows us another way up the escarpment. He is the guy who shows us how to configure our gear so that we have a better climbing experience.
The counselor is the guy on the rope who catches the ones who tumble off the rock. The folks who are falling, think they’re falling, or are so afraid to fall that they cannot continue to climb. At some point many of us may need this help. The mountain has much to overcome depending on our path. No harm, no foul. Just a different perspective.
How much different would our experience on the rock be with a coach? How much pro-active coach work does it take to negate the re-active reconstruction we need a counselor for? I almost consider it a preventative maintenance program for your life.
Having worked with Tim, I see the usefulness of coaching in more ways than knocking habits, or making a change. I believe the greatest benefit is “wellness”.
@Tim
And then of course there was explaining that organizing wasn’t anything like Clean Sweep or Neat–in that it wouldn’t happen overnight and there’d be no paint job and new furniture afterward… ;)
Alex Fayle | Someday Syndromes last blog post..The choice of too much
I definitely agree with the part of the “expert” versus the “client” or “patient” when it comes to counseling. It’s a lot easier to see a life coach as friend and it seems more relaxing. Maybe it’s because we already have a lot of unconscious associations of coaches from playing sports as kids. Are coaches were usually a lot “cooler” than our teachers.
Coming from someone who has been to a therapist, I can say that it is possible for them to be a friend and to be more on the same level as them. But it’s entirely dependent on the dynamic and shared values. I think with coaching, it’s more of a given that it’s more friendly and helpful than “I’m treating your problem.”
Where I think the line gets a little fuzzy is counselors (therapists, psychologists, whatever you want to call them) and life coaches share a big commonality. They both try to help people see the wrong (ineffective) beliefs and thought processes (patterns) they’re running. Both counselors and life coaches try to break these patterns to empower the client to liberate themselves.
I have to say that some of the comments here have been brilliant. It’s a shame that some people only read through their reader and via e-mail because to me that’s like going to a football game and leaving at half time. Of course being a Rams fan it’s advisable to leave at half time, but that’s another matter.
@ Mike – Very nice climbing metaphor and I think it sums up my opinion nicely too. I also agree about the preventative maintenance too.
@ Alex – Fortunately I haven’t a clue what any of those things are so you’d have had no problems with me!
@ Jonathan – Of course you’re right and I’m sure a different dynamics exist in some counselor/patient relationships. You are spot on as well with the blurry lnes. I do a lot of stuff that MHP do, I just do it slightly differently and it tends to be in conjunction with more traditional methods of coaching.
Well Tim,
I agree with you about how counselling is largely done. Others of us see counselling as a human enterprise of genuine meeting between people dedicated to moving the client to interdependance as soon as possible. Naturally the revolting increasing professionalisation of the field is going in exactly the opposite direction (Life Coaches take note, as soon as you are successful and popular the bureaucrats and control freaks will move in, watch out for sermons on ‘responsibility’ and ‘standards’.) Greed and pride usually prevail (oh sorry, I mean appropriate remuneration (to which there never seems to be an upper limit!) and professional recognition of course).
I wish Life Coaching every possible success. I want to warn you of the dangers ahead. Sorry if this is offensively patronising.
One question about life coaching: What if the goals that the person wants to realise are the problem (we try to get better the way we got sick). How do you handle negotiating the contract?
Evans last blog post..Social and Personal Change. Coping with the Coming Crisis #2
I have had experience with it all. The psychiatrist mostly manages meds. You can have counseling with them, but I don’t think as a whole are as good with the counseling part of it as PhD’s in counseling are. Professional Counselors cannot prescribe drugs but can refer to a psychiatrist who will. Counselors are different depending on who you go to. Some want to keep you for years to do an in depth psychoanalysis on you. This is really hard and brings out all the skeletons in your closet to be examined.
Other counselors just want to move you forward but pause where you get stuck, and look more closely at that before moving on. This can start out more like therapy and end up more like coaching. It is short term lasting a few sessions up to about a year. There are so many counselors out there (and social workers too). If you don’t fill the fit, move on. Date them (so to speak) seeing if their style is right for you. While some are very good, others are quacks. I’ve been to both.
Life coaches are all about helping you reach your potential and goals. They help you see you are more than capable and look over the road map to help you figure out how to get there. If there is a roadblock on your path, the life coach helps you move it off your path. What is cool is there are life coaches that specialize in everything, even marriage.
Funny thing, if life coaching were used more, than maybe we wouldn’t need counselors quite as much. You are right Tim, the cost is the speed hump that keeps many away. But how many people don’t do routine maintenance on their cars and wait for a major break down on the highway before fixing the problem? I wonder what the economy will do for the business. Cause many to say they can’t afford it or bring them in out of desparation. Time will tell.
@ Evan – That’s a good question and one that does crop up from time to time. It’s less of a problem than you would imagine because if I set up the values exercise properly that will expose any goals that shouldn’t really be in there and aren’t congruent with the persons beliefs and values.
I bet half my clients adjust their requirements at least somewhat during the process and I encourage that.
@ Laurie – I agree that life coaches as Mike made mention of, can act as preventative maintenance. If people could see the value early on in their life than I agree that maybe counseling etc would be less likely to be needed.
I think the economy will hit some people, I just need to focus and what I can do and forget about the rest.
Good advice about picking counselors that also goes for coaches. Pick one that gels with you and if you get a bad one, don’t presume that is the state of the industry.
Your definitely right about missing out if you don’t read the comments. I think some of these people are very very insightful.
I was going to write a huge ranty reply, but I shall gather my thoughts and have a think.
Claires last blog post..A year in review: March 2008
Great post Tim, and valuable contributions from your readers.
IMO life coaching is getting more respected now, as is NLP, where it used to be frowned on as ‘not a proper science’, it’s now being used in counselling and psychiatry more widely. Especially in these times of no time, people want to spend their time wisely – and going back over painful things, as can be the case with counselling, isn’t always the most helpful route for some people, not least of all it can keep them ‘stuck’ there. Of course, a coach shouldn’t continue with coaching if they believe counselling is more suitable for a client, but if not, then life coaching moves people on far more quickly with its focus on the future not the past. I’ve found that’s especially attractive to people who don’t like the notion of having their pasts delved into – sure touched upon where relevant or helpful to the client, depending on the goal they wish to achieve, but not the main focus. I tend to describe coaching as giving people an independent sounding board to help them get from A to B. I came up for the name for my coaching business from the success coach, Michael Neill, who likened it to playing Pooh sticks. If one of the sticks gets stuck in the reeds, it doesn’t need therapy, just a gentle nudge.
Thanks again for the post – and looking forward to your Ustream discussion this evening.
All the best
tamsin/nudgeme
People come to counselling (and coaching) to become better neurotics.
How do you deal with this?
@ Claire – Still thinking?
@ Tamsin – Agreed about NLP, some of the people that were advising it was the devils plaything are now embracing it. Funny that ;-)
I love the Pooh analogy and also very accurate. I also agree about when to accept that we are not right for the client no matter what they say to the contrary.
@ Evan – I’m not sure I do, I refer them on.
@Evan- While that is funny to say, it isn’t really true. Why would someone want to be a “better neurotic” ? People want improved quality of life and that is what brings them to both counseling and to coaching. Those folks that are good with being neurotic don’t bother. They are happy in their misery right where they are.
Well said Laurie ……… but IMO there are very few people who are really happy in their misery, whether they seek out an alternative or not – despite what Evan might suggest.
People want to be happier without making deep changes. Why would they want to do more than necessary?
People try to get better the way they got sick. Perfectionists want to do therapy and coaching perfectly.
Much of counseling and coaching is neurotic. “Discipline” etc – ie. be unkind to yourself (the judge and victim are the same person).
When we realise that our ways aren’t working any more we respond by doing them more – we work harder. Staying with the not-knowing and the blank is very difficult.
This is why we do it. In my own experience and observation of others’ experience this is true.
The way forward is acceptance of all of us. Not beating ourselves up in order to attain goals that only part of us wants or behaving the way the therapist (Mummy/Daddy) says.
Evans last blog post..Belief, Certainty and Agreement
Let me be clear. I do not believe and had no intention to suggest that people are happy in their misery.
People’s suffering is real. The question is how we address this and assist with bringing change. We know how to do particular things well. The problem is when these stop working. “To die and be reborn is not an easy thing” – Fritz Perls.
@Euan thanks for the clarification. I also wasn’t meaning to suggest that you felt there are people who are happy in their misery – and whether it’s counselling or coaching that works for people who are suffering, it it works for them, it can only be a good thing. As your quote highlights well.
Tim – glad you liked the Pooh analogy – works for me. And there is a known line between counselling and coaching: people who respect what both can offer don’t tend to mess with that IMO!
@Evan only saw your previous, longer comment now, much of which I wholeheartedly endorse – particularly your last point about acceptance…. In my world, coaching is not about helping people to achieve or chase goals others might wish or demand of them – it’s about helping them to realise that they have all the necessary resources within them to achieve whatever they might want or choose for themselves.
Thanks for the discussion, it’s been interesting – and thanks Tim for affording us the opportunity via your post.
Hi Tim – I must admit, I honestly didn’t have a clue what life coaches did when I first began reading life coach blogs like this one.
In my own experience, many counsellors dwell on problems far too much. And not just the problem you went in with. They like to know about every single bit of crap you’ve ever experienced.
I personally found that this type of counselling made me feel worse than I had before.
I like the idea of life coaching. The only way I recovered from PTSD in the end was to focus on what I wanted my life to be like, rather than dwelling on the actual problem.
After reading everyone’s opinion I have a questions.Where do you place psychologists? I’m a bit confused.I’m from Argentina, and here Counselors only deal with healthy people.They can’t prescribed or even treat ill people.Of course, we should know about the DSM ,but only psychiatrists can prescribe, psychologists and psychotherapists can’t do it. Counselors as coaches deal with clients, psychologists and psychiatrists deal with patients.As a counselor I have an holistic view,if not it will not be possible for me to be present and congruent with my work.Empathy implies not judging (not even someone’s past life).It is the strength which makes people consider going to a counselor or any type of needed help,(even when it was another person’s suggestion).
Coaching is becoming very popular here.While counselors have to study 3 years and one more to have a degree in addiction,personal development,education;psychologists have to study four years and psychiatrists have to be doctors first and then have to continue their studies.Coaches on the other hand can have their diploma in 1 and a half years, in some places they spend less than a year preparing themselves to deal with people.NLP is one of the methods that can be applied in Counseling.
Sorry for being so long,I hope I could explain myself well.I have written some articles about Counseling http://nuevos-despertares.blogspot.com You can also find more information at Carl Rogers’ site.
Dear Tim,
I believe there’s a lot of overlap between what a life coach does and what a therapist does. However, this area is often categorized under therapy, because it deals with resolving emotions.
Life coaches can ask a client WHY he chose his life goals and HOW he feels about them, whereas a therapist might only ask HOW he feels, because that’s the area he wishes to treat (i.e. the client’s emotions).
The distinction between the two professions really depends on the individuals involved, and what role they wish to play in their clients’ lives. Dr Nathaniel Branden, for example, is a psychotherapist, but he deals a lot with philosophy and beliefs, because he considers these a foundation for a healthy outlook on life. Some therapists might consider “beliefs” to be a private matter and outside their professional scope.
Haiders last blog post..Me 2 Interview: The Ice-Breaker
I always tell my prospective clients that therapy is for when you want to deal with past hurts and unresolved issues from the past, and coaching is about your future and what you want to do with it.
Also, i think in therapy, action items in between sessions are scarce, whereas in coaching I use “homework” or assignments as a key way to keep people moving forward. Also there is are other counselors, such as career counselors, which are not therapists. I think the difference here is that a counselor is generally an expert on a topic, in this case careers, whereas a coach fundamentally comes from (or is supposed to) that the client is the expert in their own life, we are not. and our job is just to ask good questions and move the action forward, etc.
Best
Life Coachs last blog post..Career Counseling vs Career Coaching, What’s the Difference?
Oversimplification I know but…
Life Coachs last blog post..The U.S. Army’s 11 Leadership Principles
Oversimplification I know but…
Life Coachs last blog post..The U.S. Army’s 11 Leadership Principles
Sorry about the multiple posts I was trying to draw a quick visual of counselors vs coaches with characters on the keyboard but it isn’t working. I’ll try one more time. Feel free to delete the extras.
Life Coachs last blog post..The U.S. Army’s 11 Leadership Principles
I am currently a student pursuing a masters in mental health counseling and will be a licensed counselor next year. I find this debate about counseling vs. life coaching fascinating because counseling actually is based on a “wellness model”. Counselors can use a brief therapy or solution-based therapy to help individuals with negative beliefs and overcome patterns that prevent them from living the life that they want. Counselors do use coaching techniques however, life coaches need to be careful not to start “counseling” their clients since they are not trained to do so. In my opinion what life coaches do counselors do everyday in practice.
This is by far the best piece on the Internet I stumbled upon discussing the difference between coaches and counselors. I have been an online counselor for ten years. I remember a psychological researcher of my online service that experienced me as a coach at times. This is mostly due to me not always following the expert or passive advice giving approach. I encourage constructive and active participation in counseling while moving between meaning and action.
As an ex-counselor and a current life coach, I can safely say: Counseling is about getting better and life coaching is about getting things accomplished! I greatly appreciated this article. I believe, as did some of the others who commented, that during the course of life coaching it is sometimes helpful for the life coach to explore the clients past issues in order to help them understand current hurdles which may be hindering them from meeting their intended goals. Personally I spend the first two life coaching sessions with my clients exploring their past issues and possible current hinderences before establishing distinct goals. Once I have obtained an understanding of where my client is coming from, where they may have had issues in the past, and what seems to motivate them then I am able to help them more realistically set goals that they are apt to actually work towards, accomplish and feel comfortable with. In my experience, clients have come to me saying things like “I want to improve my marriage” but have not provided a history of where they have had problems in their marriage. It is difficult to set realistic goals with such an individual if the goals they set are sabotaged by them because of some underlying pattern of behavior that they have not disclosed to the life coach. I make efforts not to direct the client into fixing those particular underlying causes but to enlighten the client on them, bring them to the clients awareness and at least mention them so that the client being coached can keep those things in mind as they set and work towards their specific goals.
’ve seen life coaching sites and such, but never spent much time on any of them, figuring I knew what the gist was. Well, I spent some time here this afternoon and you shed a lot of light and opened a few doors for me.
Hi all,
I do not know much about life coaching in western country. But, in eastern country, when I told others I’m studying life coaching, they would think is it counseling or consulting?
Good luck my coaching friends, go ahead!