Would You Benefit From a Coach or a Therapist?

Posted on February 02, 2021 by Rodney De Iorio, One of Thousands of Business Coaches on Noomii.

After nearly a year of repeated unpredictable circumstances, you’ve decided you need to make a change. You’re ready to take a good, hard look at your life and figure out what needs to happen so you can finally reach your goals, be successful and feel fulfilled. You know you can’t do it alone. Maybe you’ve talked to friends or family, and they’re supportive but can’t quite give you what you need. Perhaps you don’t feel comfortable opening up to those involved in your life for fear of judgement, nay-sayers or setting up expectations you’re not ready to commit to publicly. So who do you go to? How do you decide?

The way I see it, you have two options: a Therapist or a Coach. Therapists and Coaches both work with you to overcome obstacles, get out of your ‘funk’ and live a better life. While similar, there are some distinct differences in what they do, how they help, and how to decide which is best for you.

1) Do you need to face the past or take action for the future?

In broad terms, therapy focuses on overcoming past traumatic experiences while coaching focuses on activating plans to overcome obstacles for the future. These can sometimes overlap, for example, a past experience is keeping you from taking a needed step for the future. In coaching, this is an assumption – when you tell yourself, “I tried this before. It didn’t work then, so it won’t work now.” A coach will help you understand and plan for overcoming your assumption so you can take control of the future and reach your goal. However, if the past experience has caused trauma that needs to be appropriately processed, a therapist can help walk you through and process the experience, so it no longer impacts your day-to-day life. I like to think about it as facing demons of the past (therapy) versus overcoming fears of the future (coaching).

2) Is your daily life functional or non-functional?

When you wake up in the morning, get out of bed and start your daily tasks, can you do so without much trouble? Perhaps your day looks something like waking up, getting the kids up and ready for school, going to work, returning home, preparing dinner, then relaxing in front of the TV. Nothing necessarily wrong with your movements throughout the day – its functional, but not entirely satisfactory. Working with a coach can help you turn your normal, daily life from an unsatisfactory experience to one of fulfillment, living the life of your dreams. On the other hand,
therapy is for someone dealing with an issue that doesn’t allow them to live a normal daily life. This can look like an overwhelming phobia, depression, anxiety or any other psychological impediment. To help you, therapy addresses mental health issues by exploring the emotional influencers in your life. Coaching goes beyond emotional influences to logically plan and activate your life goals by addressing spiritual, environmental, physical and other influencers.

3) Do you have access to the best professional for you?

Finding the right therapist or coach can be a process. It’s important to take into consideration the access you have to finding the right one. In the U.S., access to mental health services can be difficult depending on where you live, if you’re insured, if your preferred therapist is licensed in your state or if your insurance will cover your visits. For example, because of the pandemic, many therapists are only seeing patients remotely, but insurance companies aren’t necessarily covering the cost of remote visits. On top of that, due to state licensure requirements, therapists can only work with you if you’re physically in a state they’re licensed to practice within. That means if you move from one state to another, travel often or found the perfect therapist in a different state, you could lose access to them. On the other hand, coaches aren’t bound by the same state licensure requirements, often don’t work through insurance and can meet with you no matter what state or country you’re in. They can meet with you following far fewer restrictions, are often easier to find through directories or business websites, and will offer a free introductory meeting to ensure you’re goals align with their specialty.

If you still aren’t sure which is the better option for you, the good news is its not a one-or-the-other situation. Many people benefit from having both a therapist and a coach. The important thing is that you get the help you need to live the life you’ve always imagined and follow your path to fulfillment.