COACHING VS THERAPY
WHAT IS COACHING?
Coaching is a process of getting you where you want to be in your life. It is about meeting you where you are presently and working towards a goal you have set for your future. You may discuss past events and the beliefs around said events to bust through false truths and apply a new mindset moving forward. In coaching, we face the behaviors that are keeping you stuck and formulate an action plan that will assist you in meeting that goal. Coaches do not work directly with mental illness, nor do they diagnose, but help you face individual patterns in life that keep you in a cycle you want to break free from. Many times, the length of treatment will last the duration of you meeting your specific goal, or longer depending on your needs. Coaches are also certified, not licensed. All services are out-of-pocket costs with no acceptance of insurance.
WHAT IS THERAPY?
Therapy is a process of creating a better future for you in a general sense. Most therapy will take place discussing the past in hopes of formulating an understanding of why you are the way you are presently. During therapy, you do not set a specific goal to achieve. Therapy works directly with mental illness and to live the best life possible with said illness. Depending on the level of education as a therapist, you may receive a diagnosis. Due to no end goal for therapy clients, treatment can be more of a lifestyle maintenance. Therapists, unlike coaches, are licensed in the medical field and have the capability to bill through insurance, but this is also a preference of the therapists themselves.
WHAT DO THEY HAVE IN COMMON?
We have clarified the big differences between Coaching and therapy, but there are also things that they have in common. One of the biggest things to point out is that both require the process of gaining the trust of their clients. All sessions are confidential between the professional and client, this is ethically owed to all clients regardless of the route they feel is best for them. Both use the process of masterful listening and mirroring to help their clients, and also monitor transference and refrain from countertransference between the professional and client. Whether coaching or therapy, you can experience both 1 on 1 and/or group sessions. Regardless of the route you decide to choose, therapy or coaching, both help their clients work on themselves to create a better future.
I started a few months ago with Josh and it has been one of the better decisions I have been to better myself. Josh has been a great life coach to me during difficult times. He has done a fantastic job of putting things in perspective that I just could not see myself. He really focuses on adjusting the way you think about things and makes a conscious effort to understand your point of view and where you are coming from. I have a lot of work to do, but I have already made more strides in the past year that any time before working with Josh.
