Coaching is not therapy - life coaching

Many clients come for the first time to a coaching session without knowing very well what they will receive, they often confuse the work of the coach with a conventional therapy, being this a very common mistake that can affect the expected results significantly. While it is true that depending on the characteristics of the coach, a coaching session can have therapeutic elements of great value, it is important to know how to define between the functions and objectives of a coaching session and the work that is done through therapy.

During the development of this guide we will be addressing some of the general aspects that will help you discern between the two concepts, so that you can offer your clients the necessary guidance when hiring your services.

Coaching sessions do not address health problems.

Coaching sessions are aimed at the formulation of concrete proposals and strategies, focused on the solution of common problems that require work from the vision of a specialist who has the experience and the necessary tools to make the process of creating concrete answers to the problems presented more enjoyable.

The therapies carried out by the health personnel, are meetings that take place under the guidance of a professional who will treat affections of clinical origin, diagnosing pathologies and offering a concrete treatment. Neither the coach should pretend to interfere in the work of the therapist, nor the therapist should interfere in the work of the coach. They are two completely different fields of work that fulfill a particular function for those who demand these services.

Coaching sessions are built through the coach-client relationship.

A coaching session is built through the dual relationship that is generated between the coach and the client, this implies that although the coach is the one who has the most experience in solving the problems presented, he cannot offer strategies or actions without the active participation and involvement of the client. The methodology applied by the coach to elaborate effective recommendations begins with the participation and construction of these recommendations through feedback with the client.

In the case of therapy, the therapist does not receive feedback from the patient to develop a strategy. Communication with the patient is limited to the elaboration of a psychological profile of the patient and the understanding of the facts presented by the patient. In this way the therapist, contrary to the coach, already presents a concrete solution to the patient's ailments, he is the one who has the appropriate professional training, so the patient's opinion in this regard is discarded.

The coach works from his experience, he does not follow manuals or strict patterns.

It is a reality that each coach has his own methodology and advises or recommends from his own experience and training. That is why if the same client consults several coaches, presenting his problem, it is possible that different solutions are offered, which do not necessarily have to be better or worse, but are oriented from the particularities and characteristics of each coach.

In the case of therapists, it is possible to find some differences in the treatments oriented to their patients, but these differences will be minimal, since these professionals usually work with manuals and guidelines that offer solutions from science, once the pathology is detected and diagnosed.

Knowing how to delimit the work of the coach and the therapist is fundamental for the normal respect of the work competences of both professionals and the guarantee of the satisfaction of the client's needs.