Life Coaching
When is a life coach valuable?
Ed Geraty LCSW-C, Life Coach and Psychotherapist
A life coach is beneficial when it comes to bettering particular skills and building motivation toward your goals.
Benefits of life coaching
It’s very targeted — you get to decide the area in your life you’d like to focus on.
You could have someone cheering you on who can hold you accountable for reaching your goals.
You can become more self-aware, learning more about your strengths and weaknesses.
You could discover your purpose and gain clarity on what makes you feel happy and fulfilled.
You can become more confident.
For many life coaches, their expertise is rooted in personal experience. Whether it’s in the area of relationships, health, or career, they often specialize where they have achieved success in their own lives.
It’s important to note that life coaching isn’t a licensable profession and they’re not regulated by a government agency.
Can a therapist also be a life coach?
Some people are both therapists and life coaches. However, therapists can perform a deeper dive and help you discover the root cause of your mental health challenges.
“A therapist can do basic skills as a life coach can, but a good therapist can also do a more in-depth psychological exploration with you, so if you need to change some deeply-held beliefs or relationship patterns or have a problem that goes deeper than skills, a therapist is probably a better option
In short, a therapist can be a life coach, but a life coach can’t be a therapist without completing the educational and license requirements.
What is the difference between a life coach and a therapist?
Psychotherapy is frequently covered by your medical insurance, is a medical service, and is part of your medical records… Life coaching is not covered by insurance and is not part of your medical records.
Both serve an important purpose but differ in terms of their approach. A life coach often focuses more on improving certain skills and holding you accountable for reaching your goals. If you’re self-aware and need a confidence boost or help with goal setting, a life coach can be a good fit.
A psychotherapist, on the other hand, uses different evidence-based talk therapies to help you discern the reasons why you think and act the way you do.
The main difference between a life coach and a therapist is regulation.
Some life coaches have a certificate or belong to the International Coaching Federation (ICF), but there isn’t uniform regulated training.
Therapists must complete a master’s or doctorate degree and must follow a set of regulations and code of ethics.
If a therapist breaches their industry code of ethics or violate your confidentiality, there can be legal consequences, so they also have liability insurance. Life coaches aren’t held accountable in the same way.
Is having both better?
Typically, most people are a candidate for one or the other. The main question you need to ask yourself is, “What do I want to accomplish?”
If you want to improve skills in one area, a life coach can be a good option. But if you want to change deep-seated beliefs and heal past trauma, a therapist might be better suited for you.
To find out more about my Life Coaching practice please click here