The terms ‘coaching’ and ‘counselling’ are both really umbrella terms nowadays, used to cover quite an array of coaching and counselling approaches. Each coach and counsellor brings their own personality and unique way of doing things to their work with clients. While life coaching focuses on the future, counseling focuses on the past, present and future.
Here is a general overview:
- Coaching is action orientated, whereas counselling is coping orientated.
- Coaches want to help you recognise what you think and they help you set and achieve goals, whereas counsellors also want to help you realise how you feel while helping you recognise and solve your problems in life.
- A coach has the job to challenge you frequently whereas a counsellor is there to support you with empathy and understanding (although they might gently challenge you).
- Coaches focus exclusively on the present and future and is focused on your potential whereas some counsellors focus mostly on the present and the future, others on the past (depending on the type of therapy you choose) and are focused on helping you be at peace with yourself and your life.
- Coaches are trained in helping clients move forward in life whereas counsellors are also trained in human development, sexuality, family dynamics, and mental health conditions.
- Coaches can recognise if it is old core beliefs stopping you in life whereas counsellors are also able to recognise if it is depression, adult ADHD, or another mental health disorder that is actually holding you back.
- Coaches can register with relatively new, non-regulated membership associations whereas counsellors register with long established and very strict advisory boards.
- Coaches, once licensed, are not supervised whereas counsellors and therapists generally have a supervisor overseeing their work.
It is important to ask your coach or counsellor just what their training was. Of course it is also true just because a coach or counsellor has the best training does not mean they are the right fit for you. You might need to try a few sessions before committing long term.
HOW DO I KNOW WHICH ONE TO CHOOSE?
Well, it depends on your personal preference. In general, if you only want to focus on what you are dealing with right now, don’t want someone to ask you anything too personal, want help making action steps, or the area of life you are most concerned about is your career, coaching might be a good choice. On the other hand, if you are looking to breaking patterns of thinking and acting that have been plaguing your life for some time, want to feel understood, would like to raise your self-esteem, know yourself better, and want to figure out what you want in life and move towards it, counselling might be a good choice.