Counseling vs. Life Coaching

by Sherée Bergman
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While it is important to note that these professions are different in a number of ways, there is no reason to suggest that one is better than the other or that they cannot coexist. In fact, there may be certain occasions where an individual feels they need the services of one and are referred to the other for more suitable services. 

Counseling can sometimes be a slower process than coaching. Therapy is based on the medical model that says people have psychiatric maladies that need to be repaired. Counselors are equipped to deal with people suffering from mental illness. The goal of Counseling is for clients to recover from their past so they can move towards a lifestyle of healing, finding freedom from their pain. Counseling is more about looking in the rear-view mirror.

Coaches help people improve their performances and enhance the quality of their lives. Coaches are trained to listen, to observe and to customize their approach to individual client needs.  It focuses on a person’s present, in order to help them create actionable strategies for achieving specific goals in one’s personal and work life towards the future. The emphasis in a coaching relationship is on action and accountability. A highly experienced coach will know when to look at the past because it informs the present, as well as in order to help distinguish limiting belief systems. Life Coaching is more about looking through the windshield.

Choosing to enter into counseling or life coaching is a brave step, but for those who choose to do it, the rewards can be life changing.