Life Coaching deals with relatively healthy people who want to improve their lives in specific ways, such as changing careers, finding a healthy relationship, taking their business to a new level, losing weight or deepening their self-understanding, for example. We deal with stress management as well as time management, goal setting and other key areas of change to help our clients lead more balanced lives that better reflect clients' personal values and priorities. It differs from therapy in that the focus is more on the present and future than the past, more on goals and behaviors than emotions and emotional patterns, and there is a more equal balance of power between the coach and client than between the typical therapist and client.
How Coaching is Different from Counseling or Therapy
Coaching differs from therapy in many ways. Coaching focuses on the present and where you want to go from here. Therapy focuses more on the past and how you got to here. Coaching is action-oriented, and therapy is understanding-oriented. Coaching uses a training and sports model: the client wants to learn new skills and achieve a higher level of performance. Therapy uses a medical model: the patient needs to be cured. If I see that a therapist would better serve the challenges you are experiencing, I will be candid with you about it and refer you to a therapist. Some people can work with a therapist and a coach concurrently, and others prefer to do therapy work first and coaching next.
