Coaching vs. Therapy; what's the difference?

This is one of the questions that comes up a lot for me, and not just with clients and potential clients but also just in general when I am chatting to people about what I do, and even from family members and friends.

So, first off, I want to state that I am not at all anti-therapy, in fact, I would say that the opposite is true – I’ve been to therapy multiple times in the my life and have found it to be incredibly valuable. I also think that, actually, most of us benefit from talking to and sharing our hopes and fears with someone who works in a professional capacity, be that a coach, a therapist, a counsellor or otherwise. Working with someone who is outside of your social circle and who is there not to advise or commiserate with you, but who is dedicated to supporting you and who has your best interests at heart, and who can hold that neutral, unjudgmental space for you is really worthwhile (and highly recommended).

And, too, there are absolutely areas of overlap between the different modalities, but there are also some core differences, which I will go over with you now.

So, the main difference, in my opinion, is that psychotherapy and counselling tend to delve into your past and have a focus on healing unresolved trauma and helping their clients to understand the ways in which past events have impacted them, and their present day life. Coaching is more future focused and centers around identifying areas that are present in your life right now that you want to change or improve, and taking pro-active steps towards creating that change. Coaching places emphasis on identifying individual strengths, building resilience and fostering a growth mindset.

Both counselling and coaching will often look at limiting or negative beliefs, childhood narratives and how we talk to ourselves, with the aim of both creating awareness and reframing these beliefs in a more positive light. Coaching has more of an educational slant in that I am very mindful to talk to my clients about cognition, about our brains and neuroplasticity, about how our nervous system is working (or not working) and how these physiological reactions are impacting both our bodies and our minds, and the effect that has on our lives.

For me, the reason I really fell in love with the idea of coaching is this premise of thriving, not surviving. My interest in psychology first arose from the discovery of Martin Seligman and the concept of positive psychology. It was he who raised this notion that mental health should not be merely a dissolution of distress, of ‘curing’ depression, but that mental health should also incorporate living a joyful, meaningful life and creating more of this in the world. He, essentially, over the course of decades of clinical practice, realised that the absence of depression isn’t the same as happiness. So this brings me (kind of a long way round) to my next area of difference, which is that psychotherapy and counselling tend to work towards helping clients to recover from mental distress, whereas coaching is really about moving clients towards that state of fulfillment.

Again, I stress that both of these steps are hugely important. Mental ill-health has become a huge concern within our society and psychotherapists and counsellors are a really vital part of tackling that.  

At the same time, I really believe in the continuing to be pro-active in seeking clarity about what it is we would like to achieve, what our short and long term goals are, what are dreams and desires are, and then consciously chasing those things – whilst simultaneously being grateful for what we currently have.

It’s about enjoying the process of working towards something, rather than becoming fixated on the outcome.

If you think you would benefit from working with a coach, or would like to find out a bit more about what I do and how I can help you, then please do get in touch.