“So, what is the difference between Coaching and Therapy?” – if I had a cent for every time I was asked that I could open my own pop up!
A very good, and very normal question.
What is Therapy? In Therapy you will work with a healthcare professional, to help you diagnose and work through mental health issues and reach a stage of emotional healing. Therapy is usually focused on the past, and will spend an amount of time focused on healing past traumas experienced by an individual. The focus is very much on healing. If we were to put it into normal human terms “that thing that happened to me was really painful, I want to heal, and create a brighter future”.
Coaching on the other hand is about moving someone from where they are now to where they want to be and to help them achieve that quickly and more effectively than if they acted alone. Within Coaching, the client is considered to be “healthy”, the direction of the work is future focused, the client will have a clear goal they are working towards, the Coach will act as a change agent identifying and most importantly challenging obstacles, limiting beliefs and behaviours.
So which one should I work with?
It’s a very personal decision, and really depends on what you want. It might help if you think about it as if you were getting ready to run a marathon. Would you hire a personal trainer to help guide you towards your physical peak, or would you hire a doctor?
If you physically can’t stand up, or are unwell, the personal trainer would be able to do you much good. You would need a certain threshold of wellness before you can begin to train for a marathon, and for it to be safe for you to engage in the training steps required, therefore if you are not, it might be a good idea to see a doctor before engaging in something as challenging as a marathon. However if you have a good base level of fitness and health and want to reach your physical peak and reach a new personal best record, the personal trainer might be the best route.
In this example, the doctor is the Therapist. This professional will get you well enough so that you are in a place to begin training for a marathon. The personal trainer is the Coach. He or she has expert knowledge in marathon training, and is experienced in supporting people to reach their physical peak.
A life coach can help you:
- Achieve balance
- Start a new business
- Excel in your career
- Improve communication
- Achieve personal and professional goals
A Therapist can work with you to:
- Recover from past traumas
- Identify limiting patterns of behaviour
- Work through depression or anxiety that affect your ability to function
- Support you through loss
In short, the Therapist is the Healing Agent and the Coach is the Change Agent.