More and more people are asking me about personal or relationship coaching. Several have asked me, "what is a life and relationship coach and how is coaching different from psychotherapy?" Until recently, personal coaching has been confined to corporations where it is commonly known as executive coaching. Today life coaching is finding its way into the public domain, assisting people in achieving a more fulfilling, rewarding, and balanced life. Perhaps life coaching is just what you've been waiting for to help you enrich your already satisfying life.
Just as there are athletic coaches, voice coaches, and acting coaches, there are life and relationship coaches. Life coaches are usually professionally trained mental health practitioners who have developed special skills in helping individuals develop their potential and fulfill their goals. Since 1994, the number of life coaches has grown from an estimated 1000 nationwide to more than 10,000 today. As people seek to achieve greater fulfillment from their work, their marriages, and their life in general, the need for life coaches will continue to increase. In the past, many people sought psychotherapy for personal growth not just for treatment of emotional problems or mental illness. Now people can turn to life coaches whose focus is on growth and development of all areas of one's life rather than on internal stress and emotional conflict.
So....what is the difference between coaching and psychotherapy?
- Coaching is not therapy. Life coaches don't work on "issues" or delve into the past. They don't focus on resolving past traumas, attempt to alleviate psychic pain, anxiety, depression, or sexual dysfunction (although these issues may be addressed within the coaching process).
- Psychotherapy focuses on the past and the present; coaching focuses on the present and the future. A coach focuses on the goals that the client sets for him/herself, and works collaboratively with the client to keep him/her on track toward reaching that goal.
- In psychotherapy the assumption is that there is something wrong that gets in the way of a person's functioning that needs fixing. In coaching the assumption is that there is nothing wrong with the client, but the client want a better life.
- In psychotherapy the focus is on the client's internal world; in coaching the focus is on the client's entire life including health, relationships, career, spirituality, financial health and how it all fits together to create a balanced life.
A life and relationship coach has no agenda, but that of her clients. It is one of the few relationships where the client's agenda is the only one that matters. Life and relationship coaches want to assist you in actualizing your agenda on your terms.
"How can I know whether I need a coach or a therapist?
Generally, people seek psychotherapy when they experience psychological pain that interferes with the conduct of their everyday lives such as depression, low self-esteem, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive behaviors, or a feeling that they are not functioning to capacity. Coaching begins where psychotherapy leaves off. A coach assumes that the client is well-functioning and is encountering a roadblock or finding it difficult to get to the next level to greater fulfillment. People who turn to coaches are generally high-functioning and successful people who have a desire to go beyond where they are, but feel that they would like someone to work with them to achieve their goals. The role of the coach is to provide support to enhance the skills, resources, and creativity the client already possesses.
If you have questions regarding coaching or psychotherapy, I am available for consultation. E-mail me with your questions and don't forget to visit my website at http://harriettelowenstein.marriage-family.com.
Comments