What’s the Difference Between Therapy & Coaching?

This is a topic that’s come up a lot recently when talking with friends, some of which are therapists. I know several people who are therapists who are entering the coaching profession, either as an additional service to therapy, or with the intention of no longer practicing therapy. 

Just like a financial advisor and a financial coach have some major differences and some overlap, so does a therapist and a coach. I’m just so grateful for both professions! I’ve been in therapy before and have benefitted greatly, and I’ve been in life coaching before and experienced tremendous growth from that.

Based on my training and my own experience as a patient/client, I think of the differences in therapy in coaching in terms of time, focus, and goal. 

While therapy addresses the healing of past wounds and trauma to help you in the present, coaching is more present focused and moving you toward the future you desire. For example, my client was recently deciding if he was going to continue with the commitment he had made to an organization. He was thinking about leaving before his term was up because it seemed the team did not value his input, leaving him feeling frustrated and insignificant. In our coaching conversation, he realized that this comes from how he was never listened to as a child by his parents, raising his sensitivity around this current situation. We acknowledged the source, but focused on how he wanted to show up now and how, even if he left this organization, he would still have to figure out how he wanted to show up in other situations when he felt this way. 

In terms of focus, therapy is perfect for managing mental health and emotional well-being while coaching is more about reaching goals, getting “unstuck,” or balancing all the areas of your life for optimal performance. It may be you’re having trouble implementing a new habit that you believe is important, it may be trying to overcome a block in a relationship, becoming a better communicator, or overcoming some sort of limiting belief about yourself that’s holding you back. 

And for goals, therapy’s is to diagnose and treat mental illness, heal past trauma, and improve daily functioning. Coaching’s goal is to partner with clients to maximize their potential and achieve specific, measurable goals. In my financial coaching, my clients all come with different goals in mind. For some, it’s to pay off debt. For others, it’s to build savings or not feel guilty when spending money. For all, it’s increased clarity and awareness! We partner together for each client to achieve specific goals that are meaningful to them. While we may delve into the past about how they grew up with money, the key there is to raise awareness of how that’s impacting them now. They use that awareness to decide what belief they need to have now and how they want to show up with money in this stage of their life.

I love coaching! I started as a Financial Coach after going through intense training, and now I’m in the thick of earning my certification as a Certified Professional Coach through an ICF program. The best part of coaching for me is partnering with people with different goals, desires, and values to make what they want a reality in their lives. The coaching process is so unique and empowering, and I’m grateful I get to do this work in this stage of my life!