Should You See a Coach or a Therapist for Your Issue?

I often get this question so I decided to write a post about it. I've broken it up into topics of concern when considering a coach or therapist and addressed  the differences between the two. Working as both gives me a unique perspective in that I am not invested one way or the other. Both have their detractors and both have their merits. I hope this helps in your decision making process. If you decide to go with a coach, let's talk! Click on my CONTACT page and let's get the ball rolling.

Training

Coaches

In general, a coach is someone who doesn’t necessarily even have a Bachelor’s degree.  They should be an expert in their field but this is not always the case nowadays. Honestly, anyone can call themselves a coach and probably even make a few bucks at it. These people tend not to last too long in the industry though and they have negatively impacted the public's regard for how truly good most of us are. 

In the way of training, there are several stand alone coaching schools and there are credentials offered through different universities. There are no set in stone standards in training and this has led to vast differences in the depth and breadth of training coaches get before they launch their businesses. It could be as little as a few hours online to several semesters at university.   

Back in 2009, I took an online coaching course that required me to have a Bachelor's degree. My training included many hours of learning techniques, ethics, legalities, and even setting up my business. Then I was required to do a certain amount on coaching for free while I was training. Only then could I call myself certified. 

Therapists

A therapist is someone who has gone to graduate school and obtained their Master’s degree or Doctorate in fields like Marriage and Family Therapy, Counseling, Psychology or Clinical Social Work. Part of the training to achieve these credentials include working in their field as an unpaid intern (practicum). After graduation, if they are lucky, they have to work as a paid intern (also called associate).

Before a person even graduates with their degree, they have to accrue a certain number of volunteer hours in face-to-face therapy (usually 300-750. That’s about 3-6 months of seeing 10-20 clients a week). After graduation and before licensure, a therapist needs to accrue an additional 2000-3000 hours of face-to face-therapy. That’s about two to three years of seeing 10-25 clients a week. Then they have to pass two very long, very hard, exams to obtain licensure.  In fact, the last test is so hard, it has been called harder than the BAR exam.  

How They Work and Issues They Deal With

Coaching

Coach work tends to be very focused in the present and future with specific steps to get you there. We're talking practical steps to get you from where you are now to where you want to go. 

Coaches hold you accountable and you are expected to be motivated to fully participate. They have different specialties (career, transformation, life purpose, etc). Since they don’t dive too deeply into your backstory, they tend to work on personal blocks and provide lots of education. Work is short-term and super-focused with high expectations and obligations.

If you are getting along pretty well and just need some help in certain areas, a coach might be for you. There might not be a need for a full-on therapeutic approach.

It’s kind of like getting an oil change as opposed to diagnostic work and a new engine.

Therapy

Therapeutic work tends to focus on the present and the past to rewrite the future.

Many therapists have different specialties (depression, family counseling, addiction work, personality disorders, etc) and modalities (ways that they work ascribed to certain theories of why we do what we do).

This is deep-diving to fix what is wrong, to rewrite old codes in thinking, to alleviate life-altering symptoms. This is when things are fundamentally wrong and intervention is imperative. Therapists offer a safe, non-judgmental environment for clients to gain awareness about their issues and heal in the client's timing.

This is diagnostic work and a new engine.  If your personal blocks exist because of an underlying mental health issue, an oil change is just a band-aid.

Delivery

Coaching

One of the great things about coaching is that it can be done via phone, texting, email, or videoconferencing from anywhere in to world to anyone in the world. That means coaches can talk to you whether they are in an office or on the beach. Since there is not a hard-line regulatory body to impose geographical restraints, you can even be coached no matter where you are. In your office, or on the beach. 

Coaching can also be done face-to-face in an office or your local coffee shop. This is both a perk and a drawback. Since coaches are not bound by confidentiality (even though most honor this ethical guideline) your coaching can take place in public and you may not be in control of who overhears what.  

Therapy

Therapy is typically done face to face in a therapy office. Confidentiality can be controlled in a private setting and it gives clients a safe neutral space to deal with issues,  

Therapy can also be done online through HIPPA-compliant videoconferencing programs.  Only residents of the same state where a therapist is licensed may receive therapy services online due to regulatory guidelines(In CA, it is called California Board of Behavioral Sciences).  Because electronic communications cannot be kept totally secure, your safest bet to ensure confidentiality is therapy done in person at an office location. 

Paying For It

Coaching

Coaching is typically not covered through your medical insurance so it must be paid for out of pocket and you most likely will not be reimbursed. Cost for coaching varies wildly amongst coaches because of there is no central regulating body. Some coaches charge as little as $60/hr, while others may charge $3000/hr. Unfortunately, this can put coaching out of the range of affordability for some. 

Therapy

Therapy is accepted by most all insurances nowadays with fewer restrictions on visit limits and diagnoses covered. There are some that require a small copay per session and some insurances cover behavioral health visits fully. 

There are some reasons that people may have for not wanting to bill their health insurance for psychotherapy. That is the subject of a future post that I'll just tease for now. 

I know that was a long read but I hope you found it interesting. If you have more questions, leave them in the comments below or send them to me by clicking on my contacts page and sending me an email.