“Life is like a ten speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use.” – Charles Schulz
Where Counselors often deal with people who have been referred by their doctor or another professional. Coaching clients usually choose to hire a coach of their own.
Counselors often look to the past to frame issues and gain deeper understanding; coaching tends to be solution and goal driven, aiming the client to get where they want to be as quickly as possible.
Coaches may or may not have Masters degrees, but they have considerable specialized education, certification, training, and experience in helping people with interpersonal issues, family dynamics, career counseling, pastoral counseling, and/or life development. They offer specialized help in a variety of areas including, but not limited to: healthy relationship training; parent/child relationship coaching; marriage relationship coaching; premarital preparation; career counseling; adolescent coaching, life coaching; corporate coaching; pastoral counseling; cultural adjustment for internationals; and more.
A coaching relationship will focus on the setting of measurable, attainable goals, and developing a plan to achieve them. Coaches do not diagnose, nor do they treat mental and emotional disorders. Should those needs surface in the course of a coaching relationship, a referral is made for professional assessment. Because no illness is involved, Coaches do not bill insurances and tend to have fees which are comparable to those of counseling staff.
Therapy and professional coaching do have similarities which include:
- An ongoing, confidential, one-to-one, fee-for-service relationship
- Working with clients who want to change
- Assuming change only occurs over time
- Regularly scheduled sessions
- Use of verbal dialogue as the primary service activity