The Difference Between Coaching & Counselling/Therapy?
According to the International Coaching Federation :
"Coaching is a profession that supports personal and professional growth and development. It is forward moving and future focused. The emphasis is on action, accountability and follow through. Therapy, on the other hand, deals with healing pain and dysfunction where the focus is often on resolving difficulties arising from the past which hamper an individual's emotional functioning in the present."
However, in my experience, some clients choose to come into coaching for exactly the same reasons that others may decide to have counselling/therapy - and vice-versa. We all have a history and we may have wounds which may negatively impact our confidence, our perception of what is possible for us and our willingness to take action/initiate change.
The factors that can hinder our growth and development may well be linked to past pain and dysfunction. The difference is in the approach to working with this. Coaching acknowledges these wounds but encourages you to focus on the future rather than the past, on what is right with you rather than what is wrong with you, on what you can do rather than what you can’t do and on how to train your own mind to be your ‘best friend’ rather than your ‘worst enemy’. You do not have to totally ‘fix yourself’ before you can move forward. But taking constructive action to move forward is in itself healing.
Our actions are influenced by our thoughts and feelings and, in addition to having goals they wish to achieve, some clients may describe themself as 'depressed', 'anxious', 'stressed' or suffering from low self-esteem/lack of confidence. There are strategies and skills that can lessen the impact of old, unhelpful patterns and thus, when helpful, my coaching can also includes those approaches and techniques that come under the heading of 'Cognitive Behavioural Therapy' (CBT) including, for those who wish to incorporate mindfulness meditation into their life, Mindfulness-Based CBT (MBCT). In fact, CBT resembles coaching much more than it resembles more long-standing therapeutic approaches.
Below is an extract from a recent testimonial which I think demonstrates that the boundary between when to work with a coach and when to work with a counsellor/therapist is not always clear cut.
"A couple of years ago, I was at a very low point in my life. I was jobless, directionless and terribly heartbroken from the split of a long term relationship. I did not know how to fit into this world. I had no dreams and certainly no self esteem …..and thought there was no hope for me. It was a bleak place to be. When I first spoke to Lynda I believed I was a lost cause, and was very resistant to the small steps she was asking me to take, thinking them insignificant. But before very long, I began to notice some small changes which soon became bigger things. She challenged my negativity and helped me to understand the destructive patterns that have been with me all my life, replacing them with healthy positive ones. And so the process had begun - of Lynda helping me move from a very dark place to a light place. Within a year my life changed enormously. I put in a lot of work, and I now have a blossoming career. I am clearer about what I want, which direction I need my life to move in, my self esteem is the best it has ever been, I have even opened myself to having a relationship again, but best of all – I’ve got my dreams back. … Her help to me has been invaluable during a very difficult and transitional time in my life."
PS. This ex-client is now also very happily married - and I went to the wedding!
