Coach vs Therapist

Here are some of the differences between coaching and therapy, and a basic guide for when each service is appropriate.

Most coaches will have their own take on the essential differences, you can read the thoughts of luminaries such as Tony Robbins or the International Coach Federation, but this is my take on the question:

As your coach, I start with a belief that says

"you are whole, you are not broken. We are creating a future for you from where are you are today, what do you want to be possible?"

I have no formula or process for you other than to be an observer of actions and results, I stand shoulder to shoulder with you, in your shoes and suggest what else might be true, what it might be true of, how much your beliefs serve you and how much they hold you back from achieving the next level in your success.

As an ontological coach, I take a holistic approach to your body, language and emotions and help suggest alignments that will be useful in you making a new future, new possibilities.

My practice is informed by several decades of practical experience coaching and mentoring staff at Microsoft, Oracle and several start-ups too and so I tend to work mostly with leaders and entrepreneurs from these sectors, and frequently am referred to as a 'business coach'.

These can be all contrasted with therapists, who I work closely with, and maintain a good network of contacts as coaching and therapy can all play important roles at certain times in our lives.

Therapy tends to look backward, and offer a set path or program to achieve a determined result or outcome. To use a physical example (for simplicity) if you damage your leg, physical therapy will look back into the cause of the injury and provide a program of interventions designed to remediate the damage. In the same example, you would use a coach to learn a completely new skill, with that leg or create a new possibility.

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*ICF Standard of ethics (8) states: ICF Professionals are expected to remain alert for indications which go beyond their capabilities as a coach. Therefore, it is particularly important to learn as a coach how to recognize in a timely manner whether a client will be best served by another professional service provider. If they are unable to support the client,  they may need to refer the client to other modes of support such as counselling, therapy, legal, tax, medical, nutrition, etc...