What’s the difference between working with a life coach versus a counsellor or therapist.
This depends on two things:
Whether you want to deal with your future and/or present > Life and Career Coaching.
Or your past > Counselling & Therapy.
Coaching:
Coaching is action orientated.
A client chooses to work with me to clarify their goals, identify obstacles, problematic behaviours or barriers they might not have noticed in order to create action plans to achieve their desired outcome.
Your goals can be small i.e. you might want to finesse how you live your day-to-day life, or work out whether moving from A to B is the right thing to do. A big goal could be working on how to change career completely, or needing to find yourself again after a big life change (divorce, empty nest syndrome, bereavement).
The main way I or any life coach differs to a counsellor or therapist works is that we take the client’s current starting point as a neutral ground and will be more action based from that point onward by asking gently challenging questions.
I will enable you to take control of your life.
Counsellor:
Counselling is coping-orientated. Counsellors want to help you realise how you feel. In speaking to a counsellor you are more likely to focus on the short-term ‘here and now’ and find ways to manage your current issues and feelings.
Counselling may be more commonly used to treat issues that aren’t necessarily diagnosed mental conditions. These might include things like grief counselling and bereavement, relationship counselling, building coping strategies, and support with issues such as low self-esteem. These issues may be considered to be related to the general ‘ups and downs’ of life, although this isn’t to say that they are any less significant than formal mental health conditions.
It is not uncommon for clients to see a counsellor and then move on to seeing a life coach to help them move forwards once they have dealt with the ‘now’.
Therapist:
With therapy, you are more likely to explore the ‘backstory’ to your problems in order to get to the root cause. This will enable you to understand how your past experiences may have influenced the way you’re feeling, challenge the way you respond to these, and then move forwards.
Therapy is generally a longer-term journey to diagnose and resolve problematic beliefs, behaviours, feelings, relationship issues and sometimes physical responses. e.g. depression, anxiety, OCD or PTSD. This is because therapy is evidence-based and formulation-driven.
It focuses on past traumas and issues to change self-destructive habits, improve (or repair) relationships and work through painful feelings. Therapy focuses on introspection and analysis (the past) with the hope of resolving issues and creating a more stable and manageable future.
I place a great deal of importance on trust and transparency - if you are unsure as to whether you need coaching, therapy or counselling book a discovery chat with me. If, during our chat, I think talking therapy would be better suited to your needs, we can discuss potential alternatives that may be more appropriate.
Why would I need to see a life coach?
And, when you’re aware of the hurdles that life is presenting, we can look at the ways that are available to get over them, go around them or remove them altogether.
Because there is a jigsaw piece missing.
Think of your life as a jigsaw - how many pieces does it take to make a whole you?
What happens when a piece of you goes missing?
How would you connect with that missing piece?
Would you recognise that jigsaw piece?
That jigsaw piece could be the gap between your needs and aspirations and the way you are living your life now. The missing piece is the place where your everyday life fails to align with your values and purpose.
And that's where I can help you.
As an impartial observer with professionally developed emotional intelligence and listening skills, I can help you to explore your thoughts and identify where that missing piece is. We can take all the time you need to reflect on your intuitive thoughts and I will hear what you don’t say, as well as what you do.
Here are some of the questions I might ask you;
What would an inspiring future look like for you?
How do you protect yourself by not trying to change?
What are the consequences of not paying attention to what you really want?
How can you get more of what will satisfy you?
By asking you gently challenging questions, you’ll be made aware of the hurdles that life is presenting. We can look at the ways that are available to get over them, go around them or remove them altogether.
Do you feel that your life is missing something but can’t quite pinpoint what it is, or you want to explore the avenues from the crossroads you are facing? Then book a discovery chat with me and find out how my style of exploratory coaching can help you.
What have you got to lose in working on your future whilst living your life?
I know I am capable of more, but what ‘more’ is that?
My subconscious kept trying to shout at me, so I turned up the volume and listened.
Gut feeling. I’ll work it out as I go. Soul searching. Free fall. Figure it out along the way. What else am I capable of? I know I can do more, but what more is that? I just need a bit of space to think.
Do the words above resonate with you? They were on a merry-go-round in mine for about a year whilst figuring out what I should do next.
Five years ago I changed career. Not that I knew I was going to change my career when I left my job.
Initially I thought my path would continue along the lines of being a PA and Office Manager but pivoting slightly in whom I would work for. However, my subconscious kept trying to shout at me, so I turned up the volume and listened.
What was my subconscious telling me? That I was good at listening. I enjoyed looking after my colleagues. I was good at picking up on changes in people’s moods and behaviour. It was easy for me to make people feel comfortable and relaxed. I was good at giving a different perspective on situations. Tuning into my intuition was part of my everyday life. A shoulder to cry on; I supported colleagues in their lows as well as highs. I knew the intricacies of people’s personalities and why that resulted in strained relationships between some, yet was harmonious between others. And a fun part for me; I noticed the colleagues who had started romances with one another in secret!
Put all of that in a blender and this is what I saw emerging: People centred. Behaviours. Intuition. Gut feeling. Perspective. Sounding board. Listening post. Sympathetic. Supportive. Empathic. Straight talking. Emotional intelligence.
What did I do with that information?
I sat on it.
I thought about it.
I talked about it.
I listened to what friends thought I could do with these skills.
I let myself daydream.
Asked myself ‘but what is your gut telling you?’ and ‘what do you think you would naturally be good at’
and most importantly ‘what don’t you want to do’
And it was that last question that gave me the confidence to embark on a new career.
A Life Coach. This role fits me perfectly, and it’s one I know I am great at.
Changing chapters isn’t easy, but if you feel you are capable of more and don’t want to stay cruising in the same lane forever, I suggest taking the time to listen within to see what emerges.
What words are on your internal merry-go-round? If you are still thinking ‘What else am I capable of?’ ‘I know I can do more, but not sure what that more is’ or ‘if I just had a bit of space to think, I would figure it out..’ then book a free discovery chat with me and let’s work out together why my style of exploratory coaching will help you move out of the slow lane.
What have you got to lose in working on your future whilst living your life?