Life Coaching and Mentoring vs. Therapy: What is the difference between a life coach and a therapist

Life Coaching and Mentoring vs. Therapy: What is the difference between a life coach and a therapist? 

What is a Therapist? While therapists often deal with a patient’s mental/emotional condition and/or processing past trauma, a life coach never addresses such issues. As a life coach, I am aware of and strictly adhere to the appropriate role of a life coach. 

Life coaches are not licensed health care providers or therapists, and I do not provide medical advice, engage in patient diagnosis, or practice therapy. I do not treat or otherwise counsel or diagnose mental illness. You should consult with a psychologist for these issues.

I do, however, work with clients that currently do work with a therapist or psychologist separately and I strictly focus on the life coaching and mentoring aspect to help them work towards reaching their future goals while the therapist works with issues from the past.

What is a Life Coach or a Mentor? The role of a life coach, in its most simple form, is to encourage, coach and/or act as a facilitator of a client’s self-reflection, decision making, planning for the future, and creating positive life changes. 

Life coaches aid their clients in improving their relationships, careers, image, self confidence and help to enhance our day-to-day lives. Life coaches help you clarify your goals, identify the obstacles that are holding you back, and then come up with strategies for overcoming each obstacle. 

 I offer online workshops and one-on-one private sessions to help you achieve your goals.

How are Life Coaches and Therapists similar? Both therapists and coaches work one-on-one with clients in an ongoing relationship. Certain psychological principles and theoretical frameworks are used in both therapy and coaching in order to facilitate positive life change.

The major difference between therapy and life coaching is the focus of the work: therapy focuses on mental health and emotional healing, while life coaching focuses on setting and achieving goals. 

Who should you choose? A Therapist or a Life Coach?

If you are seeking help for any of the following issues you should choose a therapist or a psychiatrist: Past trauma, anxiety or depression, anger management, help with a loss of a loved one or if you require medication.

A life coach or mentor can help you with: relationship goals and mentoring, couples coaching, dating coach and helping you find the partner of your dreams, working to improve communication skills, financial success, confidence and image goals, positive thinking and inspiration, staring a new business or current help with an existing business, achieving a work/life balance, parenting and achieve any personal or professions goals. Together we work on helping you achieve the success you so dearly deserve in life.

To put it in simple form, therapy focuses on mental health; life coaching focuses on present, future goals and more.  In other words, therapists focus on “why” certain behavioral patterns occur, and coaches work on “how” to work toward a goal.

I am a relationship expert and mentor, career and business consultant and image and confidence coach.

"I cant wait to start working with you on achieving your goals". 

Sincerely,

Your Mentor, Tonia Ryan