Coaching, Counseling, or Psychotherapy - How to Choose What's Best for You

 

You know that something needs to change and that, until now, whatever you've tried until now hasn't worked. Do you see a coach, a counselor, or therapist? How do you decide? As someone who does coaching and counseling / psychotherapy, here are some of my thoughts.

The bottom line is, it depends on what sort of change you are looking  more you need to heal from something that has happened to you in order to change, the more likely therapy is a better fit. The more you are focused on achieving a specific goal (and if healing doesn't appear to be an obstacle to your success) the more coaching, or a coaching-oriented approach, is likely to keep you on target. Psychotherapy

Counseling and psychotherapy are often used to describe the same process, unless referring to a specific form of counseling, such as career counseling. In this article, I'll use therapy and counseling to refer to the same process, focusing on the more significant distinction between coaching and therapy / counseling. marriage counseling near me

Using a Coach

Anyone can call himself (or herself) a coach and say that he provides coaching, regardless of his training. Some good coaches have little or no coaching-specific training, while some not so good coaches have lots of coach-specific training. Training, and even coach-specific training, isn't a guarantee that a coach will be a good fit for you. However, some form of training should indicate a minimal level of professionalism and dedication to self-development. marriage counseling

When you choose a coach, it's important to make sure that you choose someone who works well with the particular type of goal you are trying to achieve. Some coaches are great accountability partners - checking in with you and monitoring your progress - but may lack the tools to help you understand what is getting in your way and deal with those obstacles. Other coaches may be great skilled at helping you understand and overcome obstacles, but may be less effective if what you really need is someone to help you come up with a vision and set of goals for the future. the marriage counselor

If you and/or your coach finds that, despite your best efforts, something is continuing to get in the way of making progress toward achieving your goals, you should discuss this. If, after discussing it, you still aren't able to make more progress, you might wish to explore whether working with a therapist or counselor would be helpful. family therapy

Using a Therapist or Counselor

If you suspect that there might be deeper issues getting in the way of meeting your goals (whether you have specific goals or more general ones such as "feeling happier"), a therapist or counselor may be a better fit.

Some coaches will say that therapists focus only on the past or that all therapists use a medical model and think in terms of diagnosis, but that is inaccurate. While some therapists work this way (and a diagnosis is required for therapy to be reimbursed by insurance), many therapists are quite happy to focus on goals and to work with clients who have no diagnosis. However, to be licensed as a therapist one has to have been supervised by an experienced therapist during thousands of hours with clients. This doesn't guarantee that your therapist will be better equipped to do deeper work, but it can be quite helpful. family therapy near me

If you find that you aren't making enough progress toward specific goals with your therapist, bring up your concerns. Some therapists may be willing to shift to a more goal-focused approach (or explain why they think that won't be helpful yet). Others may suggest that you see a coach in parallel, if you can afford it. Based on your discussion with your therapist, you may decide to postpone a more goal-focused approach (e.g., it can be difficult to make a good impression when interviewing for a job when you are depressed), to find a coach to work with you alongside or instead of your therapist, or to find someone who can combine coaching and therapy. Depression treatment

Using a Coach / Therapist

An increasing number of therapists are adding coaching to their practices. For some, this is simply a way to re-brand themselves, but more and more therapists are training to be effective coaches.

For many clients, finding someone who is trained in both therapy and coaching can offer the best of both worlds - a goal-focused approach that can deal with bigger bumps in the road, if obstacles become apparent during the work together. In practice, there is often a rather large overlap between what happens in coaching and what happens in therapy. There are so many styles of coaching and of therapy that it is often difficult to determine where the boundaries are - which is all the more reason to find someone with appropriate training for the work you end up doing together, whether coaching, therapy, or a combination of both. existential psychotherapy

How to Define Your Work Together

If you choose to work with a coach who is not a trained therapist, your work together will be "coaching." However, if you work with a therapist or counselor, you may have an option about whether to call your work coaching or therapy / counseling. Here are some of the factors to consider:

Coaching can be done within the scope of therapy or counseling, if it is considered an appropriate way of dealing with the issues / goals you have presented. Therapy (to the extent it can be distinguished from coaching) probably should not be done within the scope of a coaching engagement.

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Coaching and therapy have different codes of ethics (actually, each has several codes of ethics, depending on the affiliations of the coach / therapist). In general, therapists follow stricter codes of ethics.

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Coaching is not reimbursable through most health insurance policies. Therapy may be reimbursable (if a diagnosis is applicable and you are willing to be diagnosed)

You may find it more helpful to think of your work together as coaching or as therapy. As long as you are getting an appropriate form of help, and the appropriate ethics are being followed, this may be the most important factor for you.

If you are in the process of deciding what sort of help to look for, talk with several professionals - coaches, therapists, or both, depending on your goals. Whichever professional you choose, the relationship needs to feel like a good fit - you should feel like you will be able to build a relationship of trust and to feel a sense of hope that you will make progress toward your goals. Whether you end up choosing a coach, a therapist, or someone who does both, finding the right person will maximize your ability to reach your goals.