What is the difference between coaching and therapy?
In a nutshell, the difference between coaching and therapy is this: coaching tends to be future-oriented and focused on helping you achieve your goals, whereas therapy tends to be past-oriented and focused on issues from your past.
This is a simplified way to look at it, and is not always the case—some coaching questions will naturally lead you to analyze or focus on the past to understand what has influenced your current beliefs, and some therapy sessions will focus on setting goals for the future.
But in general, a coach is mainly interested in helping you make quantifiable changes in your life so you can reach your goals. They will help you become aware of your greatest talents and any blind spots that hold you back from reaching your goals, plus they will hold you accountable throughout the process to keep pushing you forward.
Therapy often does not have a specific, targeted direction. A therapist is there to discuss anything with, but generally will not serve as an accountability partner and will often focus sessions primarily around past traumas or conflicts.
Related Questions:
What is the difference between coaching and mentoring?
The difference between coaching and mentoring is fairly simple; a coach is someone who is trained in helping an individual or team achieve a particular goal, whereas a mentor is someone with specific experience in your industry who can provide advice, but will not hold you accountable or use science to guide you to achieving your goal. We wrote an entire blog post on coaching and mentoring, so feel free to check that out!
Is coaching better than counseling?
They serve different purposes and are not mutually exclusive. If you have recently experienced a particularly painful or traumatic life event and are finding it hard to function regularly, we recommend seeking out a counselor so you have someone to talk to and to call in case of emergency. But we'd also recommend giving one of our coaching programs a try. They are low-commitment as they only take around 15-minutes a week, and they can help you to set a meaningful goal, while increasing your energy and motivation—all of which are critical to healing and finding meaning in life again! Combining them will give you a richer experience and help you to build a life you love even faster. If you'd like to pair coaching with counseling, we recommend you check out either our Vital Wellbeing or Goal Catcher online coaching program to start with.
I am a coach — can I use your online coaching app with my clients?
Our online coaching app is a perfect tool for all coaches to have in their tool belt when working with clients. We also offer online coach training, including weekly coach mentoring workshops via our global community to help you develop your skills. We're always looking for executive and wellness coaches from around the world to help deliver our custom coaching packages. Join one of our upcoming Coach Training sessions.