The Difference Between Coaching & Therapy

During my research into the coaching business over the past six months, I’ve observed that many life coaches are also therapists (or therapists are coaches!) and that some life coaches are also business coaches. While I haven’t seen too many writing coaches (therapists or no!), I did think it important to articulate the difference between what a coach does, particularly a writing coach, and what a therapist does. (Curious about the difference between an editor and a coach? Here’s a post I wrote about the distinction between coaching and editorial services.

Coaching and Psychotherapy

While there are some similarities between coaching and psychotherapy, they are very different activities and it is important that clients understand the differences between them.  Psychotherapy is a health care service and can be reimbursable through health insurance policies.  This is not true for coaching.  Both coaching and psychotherapy utilize knowledge of human behavior, motivation and behavioral change and interactive counseling techniques.  The major differences are in the goals, focus, and level of professional responsibility.

The focus of coaching is development and implementation of strategies to reach client identified goals of enhanced performance and personal satisfaction.  Coaching may address specific personal projects, life balance, job performance and satisfaction or general conditions in the client’s life, business, or profession.  Coaching utilizes personal strategic planning, values clarification, brainstorming, motivational counseling, and other counseling techniques.

The primary focus of psychotherapy is identification, diagnosis and treatment of mental and nervous disorders.  The goals include alleviating symptoms, understanding the underlying dynamics which create symptoms, changing dysfunctional behaviors which are the result of these disorders and development new strategies for successfully coping with the psychological challenges.

It is important to recognize that coaches at The Write Alley are not therapists nor health care providers. Coaching is not therapy, counseling, advice-giving, mental health care, or treatment for substance abuse. The coach is not functioning as a licensed mental health professional, and coaching is not intended as a replacement for counseling, psychiatric interventions, treatment for mental illness, recovery from past abuse, professional medical advice, financial assistance, legal counsel, or other professional services.

The relationship between the coach and the client is specifically designed so that the client sets the agenda and the success of the enterprise depends on the client’s willingness to take risks and try new approaches.  The relationship is designed to be more direct and challenging.  A coach will be honest and straightforward, asking powerful questions and using challenging techniques to move the client forward.  When coaching is not working as desired, immediately inform the coach so steps can be taken to correct the problem.