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Life Coach vs. Therapist: What You Should Know
Source: Life Coach vs. Therapist: What’s the Difference?
by Deborah Steinberg and Wendy O’Connor
Like therapists, life coaches are professionals that help you achieve your life goals. Most life coaches focus on personal empowerment, motivation, and strategies to identify and reach your personal goals.
Here’s some differences between a therapist and a life coach, and why you should start your healing journey today.
Therapy focuses solely on mental health, while life coaching also focuses on goals
The biggest difference between therapy and life coaching is the core focus of the program: therapy focuses more on mental and emotional health, while life coaching helps you achieve your goals.
Unlike licensed mental health professionals, life coaches don’t necessarily have mental health training, and aren’t equipped to diagnose or treat mental health conditions.
When to see a therapist
You experience mental health symptoms that cause distress in your life (i.e. anxiety, depression, disordered eating, etc.)
You struggle with interpersonal relationships
You need help navigating your emotions
When to see a life coach
You want to heal from past trauma and pain
You want to find healthy alternatives to replace unhealthy habits
You desire a life of purpose and meaning but don’t know where to begin
You want to challenge yourself to break out of your comfort zone
You feel confused about the next chapter in your life and want some guidance
Therapy is rooted in the past and present, while life coaching focuses on the future
Therapy presents you with an opportunity to examine some of the deep emotional and psychological pain that you have on the inside. In counseling, you typically return to some of the painful experiences you’ve had in the past, and find patterns to understand how it shapes your current reality.
Life coaches, on the other hand, are only interested in knowing past life experiences to reference them to improve your life moving forward. Instead of focusing on healing your trauma, life coaches focus on helping you create a more ideal future.
Therapy is structured around treatment, while life coaching is structured to facilitate progress
Therapy sessions are designed as a program to address, treat, and heal past emotional trauma and diagnosed mental health disorders. The type of sessions provided depend on the specific issues that need to be solved.
Life coaching sessions focus on steady progress - coaches prioritize your strengths and values in order to create a new outlook for life and cultivate happiness.
What to look for in a life coach
While there are no specific requirements to become a life coach, it is important to seek a coach that has completed relevant education, training, and achievements that qualifies them to assist others in their process.
A qualified life coach:
Inspires you and gets you excited about living your best life
Has experience working on the same problems you’re struggling with
Uses effective strategies to help improve your life
Is relatable, and is someone you feel comfortable being vulnerable and open with
No matter your incentive for seeking help, working with a life coach can be your first step towards healing and empowerment. Contact us to schedule a free consultation and get started on your journey today.
“Horses change lives. They give young people confidence and
self-esteem. They provide peace and tranquility to
troubled souls,
they give us hope.”
- Toni Robinson
Understanding Peer Support Services
Source: Department of Veterans Affairs Patient Care Services
What is Peer Support?
Peer support is a system of giving and receiving help founded on key principles of respect, shared empowerment and self-determination in the service of recovery.
What is a Peer Support Provider in a mental health setting?
A person with a mental health and/or co-ocurring disorder, who has been trained to help others with these disorders identify and achieve specific life and recovery goals. A peer support provider is a person who is actively engaged in his/her own recovery. A peer support provider is a person who volunteers or is hired to provide peer support services to others engaged in mental health treatment.
What is the purpose of a Peer Support Program?
To provide opportunities for Veterans to take control of their own recovery
To teach and support learning of skills needed to facilitate one’s recovery
To make Veterans aware of available services and choices
To help Veterans develop a sense of wellness and self-worth
To bring a unique perspective to the treatment teams on which they work
What do trained Peer Support Providers do?
They serve as role models by sharing their persona; recovery stories, showing that recovery from mental illness is possible.
They teach goal setting, problem solving, symptom management skills, and a variety of recovery tools.
They empower by helping others identify their strengths, supports, resources, and skills.
They advocate by working to eliminate the stigma of mental illness.
They act as community liaisons by identifying social supports in the community and encouraging the expansion of local community resources.