Coaching VS Therapy: How to know which one you need right now
Both coaching and therapy are introspective, bring self-awareness and can bring forth positive change in your life.
In my opinion, coaching and therapy are complementary approaches, and that is why I practice both. Knowing whether you may better benefit from coaching or a psychotherapeutic approach depends on your needs at a specific moment in your life.
Coaching will be more helpful when you are forward-focused and have a clear goal in mind. Let’s say you are currently at point A and wish to get to point B. Working with a coach will allow you to laser focus your intentions and discover and recover all your strengths (even some you may not have considered) to achieve your desired outcome. However, coaching can also be beneficial if you are feeling somewhat ‘lost’ and feel you need change but don’t know where to start. In a way, possibilities regarding what can be targeted with coaching are endless.
Coaching requires taking action because without it, no change will occur. Therefore, when you work with a coach there will always be an action plan involved.
Working with a psychologist will be more focused on emotional challenges you may be experiencing in a given time. This can be due to relationship issues, grief and loss, existential and identity questions, and so on. In session, we welcome what you are experiencing in the present moment. This experience can be affected by past events, and we may look into them if they are relevant to your healing journey. However, the work I do is not focused on the past, but on the here and now. My approach is based on somatic awareness, tuning into a deeper trust in oneself to find your own wisdom, as well as ideas from positive psychology. My perspective is to harness your inner strength and resilience to work through whatever is challenging you, and to support your empowerment. Working in therapy may include action steps when you realize certain things need to change (and this is often the case). Generally speaking, the idea of working with a therapist is wanting to feel well, gaining self-knowledge to improve the quality of our lives and relationships, or find more peace with a specific issue. This work rarely has a defined goal or time frame to it.
To sum up:
Coaching is… future focused, goal oriented, action based, with the intent of change.
Therapy is…an inner exploration while receiving support, gaining skills to manage challenging life situations and emotions associated with them, tapping into inner strength and resilience, increasing your life quality and overall well-being.
If you are still wondering what is right for you, shoot me a message in the connect box! I’ll be happy to guide you further.