Coaching versus Therapy -What’s the Difference?

The real question is what are you looking for? What brings you here? Many folx who are considering coaching are doing so because they are at an impasse. They realize that they need help to get to the next level or uncover what’s holding them back. You may be considering coaching because you feel stuck and don’t know what to do. You may know that there is something stirring inside of you that needs to come out but you’re not sure what. You may want guidance on next steps in life or more information on how to accept and move through your circumstances. Coaching can help in all of the above and so much more. 

Think of your coach as a partner in your transformation of thought, lifestyle, and habits. They should help you to discover your unique purpose, and vision, and help you to enact a plan to get you moving in the direction that was meant for you. Personal development and growth are essential to realizing your full potential and stepping into it with clarity and focus. Your coach should be a joyful and patient guide who holds space for you and holds you accountable!

How is coaching different from therapy? While most professional coaches are certified and trained to help you navigate a number of personal issues with insight, personal experience, and the tools to support you through challenges and successes, they are not necessarily licensed therapists. There is much healing and direction that can come from coaching, but in many cases therapy may be most appropriate as a start to understanding the neuroscience behind your choices, actions, and behaviors. Therapists are experts in the medical and behavioral sciences and trained to diagnose mental health conditions that may require treatments and interventions. The approach is usually more analytical and non-personal. 

In many cases coaching and therapy go hand in hand. While therapy can help to treat and stabilize mental health conditions that may be preventing you from living a contented life, coaching may help to shift you into a place where you are activated to move forward with dreams and goals for yourself. Whereas therapists diagnose chronic conditions that include more than occasional depression, anxiety, PTSD, etc., coaches work with folx who may or may not have these conditions to move beyond and make significant life and mindset changes. Both coaching and therapy can be integral to your healing journey.

At Joyful Muse Co, we provide coaches who specialize in helping you get back to you. We are certified through the Artist of the Spirit coaching program to be your partner through life, energy, and spiritual coaching. Please reach out to learn more about individual coaching, group coaching programs, or to learn more about our affiliates in therapy and mental health counseling.