Date: April 26, 2022

Studio Talk: Real Conversations About Mental Health.

Coaches are not Counselors/Therapists.

Season 1 Episode 4.

In this episode the co-hosts, Xiomara and Victoria, have a discussion about why coaches are not counselors/therapists. The discussion goes into personal and professional examples of how and why there are very distinct differences between the two. Some of the specifics that are discussed include the qualifications for both that includes education, training, supervision, boards, certification, and other significant credentials impacting the validity of each one. 

In addition, the co-hosts provide personal experiences and examples as well as professional experiences and examples in dealing with both coaches and professional counselors/therapists in their personal and their professional lives. They discuss both the negative and the positive impacts of coaches as well as counselors/therapists. Although the conversation becomes quite fiery at times, it is done with transparency as much as with dignity and respect. 

They encourage the listeners to provide feedback, comments as well as their opinions and experiences about coaches and counselors/therapists. The discussion offers resources and references for listeners to review and examine and listeners are encouraged to do their own research and draw their own conclusions about the issues discussed. As in all fields and professions, there are good and bad found and the co-hosts recognize that as reality and have an honest conversation about it.

Counselors/Therapists:

• Qualified to treat mental health disorders
• Focus on mental health, healing and understanding yourself
• Have a master’s or PhD in psychology/counseling
• Usually no set “end date”
• Regulated by licensing boards
• Counselors are therapists
• Counselors/therapists diagnose and provide professional expertise and guidelines &and treatments
• Counselors are best prepared to help people get through regular, common and typical life issues
• Counselors are better prepared to address neurosis
• Progress is often slow and painful in counseling
• Most professional counselors are already qualified to also coach clients without additional training, might need training around the ethics issues, liability issues, scope of expertise/work. Etc.  
• Counselors can use parts of what they had in training — some cognitive therapy and solution-focused work and a little Carl Rogers. Most counselors with very little other work can do (coaching)
• Professional counselors who offer coaching services should understand that, legally, they are still practicing counselors
• Licensing boards do not necessarily differentiate between counseling and coaching activities
• The counselor is generally more directed to help a person with a specific issue and aid in the understanding of that issue from a personal point of view and how to deal with that issue more effectively so that the person does not get hurt more or can get rid of some of the hurt they are dealing with. 
• Licensed counselors are better prepared and governed than non-licensed coaches
• Counseling is a much more in-depth and longer process, since we are trying to help the person understand the why, what and how to deal with issues and stop the ’hurting’
• Your licensing board may well view your coaching as falling under your scope of practice therefore, you should fulfill all mandated state licensing requirements: obtaining informed consent, reporting child or elder abuse, etc. — with your coaching clients just as you do with your counseling clients
• Professional counselors who conduct “coaching” can have complaints lodged against them by their coaching clients with state counseling licensing boards
• Coaching clients can sue counselors for malpractice and attempt to hold them to the standards of Licensed Professional Counselors, even if the counselor was providing services as a “coach” 
• Counselors who identify themselves as “coaches'' to clients must still maintain the same standards as professional licensed counselors
• Coaching clients and therapy clients are kept separate
• Therapy is about uncovering and recovering
• Counselors work with persons needing help and hoping to identify dysfunction or trauma to heal and resolve old pain
• Counselors work with mental, emotional, and psychosocial issues (psychological)
• Counseling focuses on moving people from a state of dysfunction to one of being functional
• Counselors can be encouraged to say that they do coaching
• Counselors can do both coaching and counseling
• Counselors are regulated just like medical professionals
• Counselors focus on the client’s past while working through trauma, depression or any other presenting problem in order to help the client see their patterns and why they are using these outdated defenses. Once that is achieved, the client can then learn how to use healthy and helpful ways of navigating through life

Coaches:

• Coaches are not counselors or therapists
• No privilege of confidentiality in lawsuits, etc. if subpoena is issued
• Coaching is NOT therapy and many times the reasons that people get “stuck” is because they are dealing with some old wounds (subconscious many times) and old patterns of behavior that only through true therapy with a trained therapist can those wounds and patterns be uncovered and addressed in order for change to occur. The opportunity for psychological exploration is not inherent in the life coaching process
• Because of the stigma attached to seeking mental health services, clients would prefer to seek the services of a ’life coach’ rather than a ’counselor’ 
• Coaching can be a viable professional activity, provided that the person offering coaching services clearly distinguishes it from professional counseling
• Coaches should also provide clients a professional disclosure statement outlining the nature of services, fees, education, training and limitations of coaching
• Coaches are not trained, prepared or qualified to deal with life trauma, ADD or ADHD, addictions, family conflict, etc., issues that may be complicating the work life of an individual
• Coaching is much more of a superficial understanding of who the person is and how he/she presents him/herself to the world and how they can present themselves in a more acceptable manner and work better in their environment and with their peers
• They help with empowerment and accountability of clients
• Focus on taking action to reach goals
• No education requirements
• Usually short-term
• Not covered by insurance
• Unregulated - raises questions about an unregulated industry at a time when the demand for mental health services is outpacing supply
• Often “practice” outside their “scope of expertise”
• Coaches help clients identify the challenges, then work in partnership with clients to obtain their goals
• Progress is typically “rapid and usually enjoyable” in coaching
• Coaching is about discovering
• A coach is like a mentor not a mental health professional or professional counselor
• Coaching has a role, a narrower focus than counseling, with a limited reach
• Coaching helps clients set manageable goals and reach them, especially someone who doesn’t know where to start or how to tackle a big change in their life
• The concern is the prospect of coaches overreaching
• Good coaching should start with the disclaimer that coaching is limited and that more serious, deeper issues may need professional counseling or therapy, NOT coaching
• Coaches need to understand the difference between the services they provide and counseling
• Coaches should steer clear of certain areas and be quick to refer clients to the appropriate mental health professional
• Coaches work with healthy clients who are striving to improve their circumstances
• Coaches do not and should not work with emotional, mental, psychosocial (psychological) issues, and should not assume it is all natural and can be normalized 
• Coaches do not and should not diagnose and provide treatment or professional expertise and guidelines for mental health or mental illness issues and family/relationship issues. Trained MFT’s & other professionals should
• Coaches help clients identify the challenges, then work in partnership with clients to obtain their goals
• There are limits to what coaches can and should do with clients
• Coaches should refer clients to a professional licensed counselor/therapist if a significant psychological problem is discovered or when dealing with serious family or other related issues
• Coaches are simply utilizing theories and techniques taught to every counselor as a matter of course
• Good coaches should come out and make it clear they are not counselors or therapists and refer people for the proper services
• Coaches CAN NOT and SHOULD NOT “provide” professional counseling/therapy because they do not have the appropriate credential to do so : Masters & up, hours/years of required clinical supervision, licensure, board certification, CEUs, etc., liability insurance, etc.
• Coaches are NOT regulated. Coaching is an entirely unregulated industry – there are no oversight boards, no standard curricula, no codes of ethics; if I wanted to hang out my shingle as a life coach tomorrow, no one would stop me. Coaching is distinct from therapy, in that it tends to focus on helping functional people improve their lives, rather than treating people with clinical issues – although those lines aren’t always clear
• The Life Coach School caters to the idea that anyone who works hard can build a thriving career as a life coach, etc
• In 1995, the nonprofit International Coaching Federation (ICF), an independent credentialing body, attempted to impose a set of standards and a code of ethics on the industry, and met with middling success
• During the pandemic, coaching suited an anxious workforce scrambling to monetize side hustles and cope with burnout
• “Earn a living by helping other people while working from home and making your own schedule, with no training or credentials necessary beyond the some unregulated course or certification process”
• Anxiety, in its clinical form, is beyond the scope of coaching
• Alarmed by the blurry boundaries around what issues could be addressed with coaching. It was basically unlicensed therapy
• Many coaches are not adequately trained and might essentially be practicing what they think is counseling without a license
• Coaching is a “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential
• Professional coaches provide an ongoing partnership designed to help clients produce fulfilling results in their personal and professional lives
• Coaches help people improve their performances and enhance the quality of their lives. 
• Coaches are trained to listen, to observe and to customize their approach to individual client needs
• Coaches seek to elicit solutions and strategies from the client; they believe the client is naturally creative and resourceful 
• The coach’s job is to provide support to enhance the skills, resources and creativity that the client already has
• Defining goals
• Formulating a plan that will use the client’s skills
• Holding the client accountable for progress
• Providing structure, encouragement and support

Both can:

• Help you reach future goals
• Be a tool for self-development
• Create positive change in life

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YouTube Season 1 Episode 4 link https://youtu.be/55Sjo4IxdPY

Share this episode with your friends, family and colleagues  

References:  

https://www.camft.org/Resources/Legal-Articles/Chronological-Article-List/coaching-vs-therapy

https://ct.counseling.org/2008/12/counseling-vs-life-coaching-2/

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/oct/06/life-coaching-brooke-castillo-unregulated-industry

https://ct.counseling.org/2008/12/aca-member-perspectives-on-counseling-vs-life-coaching/

Mental Health Resources:

https://www.thex-studio.org/resources

Studio Talk contact: studiotalkmentalhealth@gmail.com

Learn more about our co-hosts: Xiomara A. Sosa www.thex-studio.org Victoria Lockridge https://www.wildvioletcounseling.com/

The Studio Talk podcast and the information provided by Xiomara A. Sosa and Victoria Lockridge are solely intended for educational and social change advocacy purposes and are not a substitute for advice, diagnosis, or treatment regarding medical or mental health conditions. Although they are licensed mental health counselors, the views expressed on this site or any related content should not be taken for medical, psychological or psychiatric advice. Always consult your physician or appropriate mental health provider before making any decisions related to your physical or mental health.

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PLEASE READ: If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, please call a local emergency telephone number or go immediately to the nearest emergency room. If you are in crisis, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ or 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or your local emergency services.