By Amy Kim, Psy.D.
When seeking help, many are curious about the difference between therapy and coaching. Some may feel more comfortable seeing a coach instead of a therapist, perceiving it as less stigmatizing, but it’s important to remember that with either, it’s simply an act of getting help from another person. It’s important to know the difference to make sure you’re getting the best value for your time, energy, and money. Here are some points of clarification if you’re wondering about the difference between therapy and coaching.
1) Coaching focuses on present or future goals. Effective therapy addresses everything relevant towards meeting your goals, including the past, present AND your future.
2) Coaching focuses on circumscribed and specific goals. Therapy focuses on specific goals within the context of larger life goals, values, identity, and relationships.
3) Coaching is aimed at targeting specific issues, but often these struggles are manifestations of underlying issues. Since coaches are not trained to identify and handle deeper psychological and emotional issues, coaching strategies may be limited in what they can help you with and provide a band-aid short-term “fix” rather than long-term and meaningful changes.
4) Coaching can be effective at providing a “toolbox” to handle issues and meet goals. While coaching is a toolbox, effective therapy can be thought of as the hardware store where the toolbox is one of many items that is offered to you. Effective therapy can help a person in greater breadth and depth than coaching alone can.
Instead of needing to choose between therapy or coaching, I offer a unique combination of both exploration and explicit goal-setting. By integrating these practices, people are able to transform in real and lasting ways as a result of developing a deep understanding about themselves while also implementing practical steps towards improving their lives. Effective therapy addresses all aspects of a person’s life in order to maximally enhance their mental, emotional and physical quality of life.