Are you at a crossroads in life, unsure whether you need a life coach or a therapist? Understanding the differences between these two professionals can be crucial in making the right decision for your personal growth and mental health. This article delves into the roles, methodologies, and benefits of life coaches and therapists to help you make an informed choice.
What is a Life Coach?
A life coach is a professional who helps you focus on present and future aspirations, guiding you in goal-setting, personal growth, and unlocking your potential. Unlike therapists, life coaches don’t address past traumas or psychological disorders. They work with individuals seeking improvement in their personal or professional lives, offering motivation and strategies for overcoming barriers to success. Typical qualifications of life coaches include certification from recognized coaching bodies, but they are not required to have a healthcare license.
What is a Therapist?
Therapists, or mental health professionals, are trained to diagnose and treat mental health disorders. They provide a safe space to explore past traumas, emotional challenges, and psychological issues. Therapy can take various forms, including cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), psychotherapy, and more, depending on the individual’s needs. Therapists hold a license in fields like psychology, psychiatry, or social work, ensuring they meet certain standards of education and practice.
Critical Differences Between Life Coaches and Therapists
The primary difference lies in their approach. While therapists focus on healing and understanding past issues, life coaches concentrate on setting and achieving future goals. Life coaches use motivational techniques and action plans, whereas therapists might delve into psychological theories and coping mechanisms. The outcome with a life coach is often goal-oriented success, while therapy aims to improve mental health and emotional well-being.
Which One Should You Choose?
The choice between a life coach and a therapist depends on your individual needs. If you’re struggling with mental health issues, past trauma, or emotional difficulties, a therapist can provide the necessary support and treatment. On the other hand, if you’re looking to improve your life skills, achieve specific goals, or enhance personal or professional aspects of your life, a life coach might be more suitable. Evaluate your current situation and consider what type of support will benefit you most.
More information about the differences between a Life Coach and a Therapist.
Nowhere in the world have we found (yet) any law or regulation of “life coaching.” Therefore, anyone can be a life coach.
NO TRAINING DEGREE OR LICENSE IS REQUIRED. However, it is important to understand that COACHING is not and should not be the same as THERAPY. In a separate video, we go into greater detail about the qualifications required to be a life coach.
TERMINOLOGY MATTERS:
The first thing we will address is the use of terminology in the life coaching and therapy fields.
In some countries, ANYONE can call themselves a “counselor,” “psychotherapist,” or even “psychologist”. However, in most countries, including the United States, where Transformation Academy is based, there are clear distinctions. Misuse of these terms can result in legal consequences.
At the highest level is a Psychologist, who has a PhD and clinical training.
Then there are psychotherapists, therapists, licensed mental health therapists (LMHT), and licensed clinical social workers (LCSW), all of which require a Master’s Degree and clinical training.
The word “counselor” is often used to replace “therapist”. However, it is also used to refer to non-degreed fields—even camp counselors. The word “counselor” is a grey area; however, we do not recommend using the word counselor because of the possible confusion.
To add more confusion, some related fields call what they do “therapy,” even though it’s a “certificate” program, not a degree, and is also not regulated.
For example, hypnotherapy goes DEEP into the unconscious mind and is used for anxiety, depression, phobias, and more, yet it is an unregulated industry with no degrees or licenses required. However, there are regulations in place in some states and countries, and there may be consequences for using it in a “therapy” setting or sense if you are not a licensed therapist. In other words, using it to treat mental health issues.
Another field that is surprisingly not regulated is drug treatment–so yep, if you sent a loved one to a rehab facility, there is no regulating body that “accredits” them legally.
Even in countries that don’t regulate any of the above-mentioned fields, it is still ETHICAL and PROFESSIONAL to use appropriate terms when referring to what you do AND receive appropriate training–even if it is technically on the honor system.
APPROPRIATE USE OF THERAPEUTIC TOOLS IN LIFE COACHING
Life coaches often use “therapeutic” tools with clients, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, therapeutic art, NLP (neurolinguistic programming), hypnosis, and other psychological techniques. The word “therapeutic” means that it benefits the body or mind and increases well-being. Using these tools is helpful as a coach. However, it is not the same as conducting “therapy” like a therapist.
THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN COACHING AND THERAPY
A life coach can use therapeutic and psychological tools to help people:
- Change their thinking
- Increase their emotional wellbeing
- Change limited belief systems
- Reframe past experiences
- Set and achieve goals
- Make life changes
- Increase motivation
- Learn a new skill
- Change their self-identity
In general, life coaches are PRESENT AND FUTURE FOCUSED. Life coaches help their clients explore their past only to understand their current life experiences and belief systems. Their primary goal is to help a client look at where they are, where they want to be, and how to get from point A to point B.
A therapist may also help clients with these areas of their lives, but they also help their patients:
- Treat mental illness clinical anxiety, or depression
- Heal past trauma
- Cope with traumatic loss
- Cope with abuse
- Treat addiction or substance abuse
- Cope with relationship turmoil or violence
In general, therapists are PAST AND PRESENT FOCUSED. While a therapist may work with clients to set goals and make changes, primarily, clients come to them seeking assistance with healing trauma, overcoming abuse, treating addiction, or treating mental illness.
Because therapists have a specialized graduate degree and clinical training, they have an extensive foundation of knowledge about the mind, biology, and human behavior. They are qualified to help clients in these sensitive areas, and, more importantly, they are properly trained on how to handle the volatile nature of these situations.
WORKING WITH CLIENTS WHO ALSO NEED THERAPY
Sometimes, when coaching a client, an unexpected deep trauma can surface, or it can become apparent this person is dealing with a deeper mental health issue than you are qualified to help them with. In this case, especially if the person expresses the possibility of harming themselves or others, it is your MORAL OBLIGATION to refer this person to work with a properly trained, licensed mental health professional. Failure to do so can lead to legal liability.
This is the best thing you can do to help them. You can continue to work with them as a coach if they seek the treatment they need, however, it is not good for you or the client to continue to work together if they are not being properly treated.
So, you might be wondering, how can you tell if a person has a mental illness or trauma that would require therapy?
Anxiety and Depression
Working with people who experience anxiety, sadness, or mild depression is okay because those are normal human emotions, however, the following higher-level manifestations of anxiety and depression are signals that the person needs help that a life coach is not qualified to provide:
- Incapacitation or inability to function in daily life
- Panic attacks that cause harm or require hospitalization
- Suicidal thoughts, history, or tendencies
Mental Illness
We do not recommend life coaches intentionally work with clients who have been diagnosed with mental illness or personality disorders such as psychopath, sociopath, borderline personality disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, multiple personality disorder, bipolar disorder, PTSD, etc.
However, this does not mean that life coaches cannot COACH people who fall under these categories, as long as the person is also receiving adequate treatment.
In these situations, the life coaches are not addressing the underlying illness. Instead, they support the person in making life changes, setting goals, and practicing new ways of thinking.
Signs that your client may have mental illness and/or may not be coachable:
- Incoherent or illogical thinking patterns
- Inconsistent stories, beliefs, or common flip-flopping opinions
- Regular poor decision-making, even after discussing in detail the right decision
- Inappropriate attachment to the coach, neediness, or romantic advances
- Irresponsibility, such as repeatedly missing appointments or not following through on agreed-upon action steps
- Explosive or hostile reaction to insights or recommendations made by the coach
Remember, it is always up to you to terminate the relationship with any client who is not coachable, incompatible, or needs help you feel uncomfortable providing.
As coaches, we are here to empower people to live better lives, not heal them or cure their illnesses. And we do NOT want to do them harm, so just like the Hippocratic Oath for medical professionals, we must all commit to the CORE ethical standard in the industry, which is “first do no harm”.