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Coaching Is the Hottest Trend To Hit the Self-Improvement Business

Life Coaching vs Traditional Therapy

By Dr. Reanna Waugh PhDPublished 3 years ago 2 min read
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Coaching Is the Hottest Trend To Hit the Self-Improvement Business

Coaching can be easily described as “partnering with clients” that helps them in a thought-provoking and innovative process that motivates them to expand their personal and professional capabilities. Professional coaches maintain an ongoing partnership devised to encourage clients to develop fulfilling outcomes in their personal and professional lives. Coaches help communities improve their behaviors and boost the quality of their lives. Coaches are educated to listen, to recognize while customizing their approach to their client’s needs. They offer to extract solutions and strategies from the client. This includes what the client has customarily acquired, allowing the client to be more creative and resourceful. Ultimately the coach’s job is to implement support to strengthen the skills, resources, and creativity that the client already has.

A life coach is like a mentor who accompanies us on a journey. Many societies offered that role in the past, yet in a community such as ours that leads to strict rules and regulations could have been where traditional counseling was born. Presently, we are looking at a comeback to something more fundamental.

What’s the difference?

Both professional counselors and coaches see connections between the two fields but still make subtle divergences. The most significant would be the spectrum of need. Currently, counseling focuses on bringing individuals from a state of dysfunction to one of being functional. Yet many people are undoubtedly functional, yet maybe not highly functional or earning their full potential. Previously, the only place they could look for help was in the self-help section of the bookstore. Coaching provides a substitute.

Here are the primary differences between therapists and Life Coaches. Therapy Clients typically have a diagnosis like depression or anxiety that inhibits their functioning; some tend to engage in abusive relationships and have experienced clinically traumatic events that affect them presently (Glass, 2018). Some of their clients have personality or characterological issues that harm themselves or others, and some experience crises or dysfunctional “family of origin” issues that affect them currently (Glass, 2018).

Coaching Clients tend to have conditions that they are currently seeking to change or cope with, like at work or a challenging relationship (Glass, 2018). Some clients need better social or communication skills because they have trouble expressing or proclaiming themselves (Glass, 2018). Some of them are feeling stuck or ineffective in the short-term that causes them to feel overwhelmed, and they are failing to meet goals like in their career or dating, causing issues with confidence or self-esteem (Glass, 2018). Most of them are not seeking help with mental illnesses and are typically stable within their mental health.

The advantage of Psychotherapy Over Coaching would be that most health insurance companies pay for traditional therapy. Therapists help with healing deeper, long-standing issues (Glass, 2018).

Advantages of Coaching Over Psychotherapy would be faster results, ongoing support because coaches maintain contact with their clients to reach their goals (Glass, 2018). Coaches observe patterns, choices, and reoccurring issues long term, provide deeper self-knowledge and awareness of these choices. Recovery coaches can help with relapse prevention skills that may include mood disorders or unhealthy choices (Glass, 2018). Coaches help maintain motivation, suggest new healthy habits, and teach their clients from many sources beyond talk such as articles, exercises, mood tracking, prescribed journaling, creative expression, and so on without restrictions (Glass, 2018). Life Coaches also do not have geographical restrictions and can help people globally.

Reference

Glass, R. (2018). Psychotherapy vs Life Coaching: The Confession of an Old-School Therapist. Psych Central, 1.

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About the Creator

Dr. Reanna Waugh PhD

Dr. Reanna Waugh PhD Founder and CEO of Waugh's Holistic Wellness Center, Student, second PhD in Clinical Psychology, Life Coach at WHWC currently in Gladstone, MI (USA) with her husband, Kyle Waugh, a retired Veteran of the Air Force.

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