This is a topic that I have been thinking about a lot, as I received training on both coaching and therapy. I believe it is very important and beneficial for coaches, therapists as well as clients to understand the nuances in order to identify the most effective ways of learning, healing, and growth. I would share my thoughts and experiences on the similarity and differences between the two; and more importantly, what happens when the line gets blurry and what we do in those cases.
As I alluded to in a previous post, coaching and therapy share quite a lot of philosophical underpinnings, psychological theories and intervention techniques. In my master’s training of counseling at New York University’s Applied Psychology department, we learned a lot of psychological foundations of human behavior, theories of various psychotherapy approaches, and almost covered all the popular intervention techniques. When I had my coaching training, one of the core competencies from International Coaching Federation (ICF) is for a coach to know when and how to refer to a therapist when appropriate.
To elaborate on their distinctions and correlation, I was hesitant to use an illustration because it will surely be an oversimplification. Nothing visual could justify the complexity of working with the human mind; but I still tried to do the impossible.
Granted, a picture is worth a thousand words; but please bear with me as I have to add a few more words.
What’s the difference?
As illustrated in the diagram above, there are two dimensions, the functional spectrum (vertical axis) and the temporal spectrum (horizontal axis). It’s gradient on both these two spectrums; and the green shades are therapy’s focus while the blue shades are coaching’s focus.
Functional spectrum. If a client is more functioning in terms of their daily work and life, free of psychological disorders, they would benefit more from coaching. If an individual is distressed with mental illness with dysfunction of their life, they would benefit more from therapy. It’s easier to conceptualize this distinction by the extremes. On the top end of the spectrum, you might imagine people like a newly-promoted CEO of a Fortune 500 company, who works with their coach on preparing to take on the new job and turn the company’s performance around. On the bottom end of the spectrum, you could find veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder who are so debilitated by the symptoms that they are not able to leave their home. They would benefit from therapy work to better process the trauma and cope with these devastating emotional reactions.
Temporal spectrum. Coaching typically focuses on the present and future. A coaching session would oftentimes discuss visioning and success, addressing the obstacles in the present moment while moving into the future. Therapy, relatively speaking, emphasizes more on the past in order to understand the present. Bringing the two examples above, coaching the CEO focuses on the current issues around performance and development and aims to achieve the goals towards the future; while the veteran would benefit from delving into his past trauma and the deep-seated emotional issues around it in order to enable healing and recovery.
With all of the above said, what’s really useful to think about is the vast spectrum in the middle.
Either Or? Both?
Human beings are always more complex than any categorical mental model. Highly functioning individuals might also suffer from mental health and could use therapy help; so on the functional spectrum, the line could be blurred. A coaching client would also benefit from understanding their past to uncover the root of their limiting thoughts in order to move forward with their goals; so on the temporal spectrum it’s also not entirely black and white.
Apart from the extreme ends of these spectrums, most individuals live in the middle of the diagram. In a lot of cases, people could actually benefit from both coaching and therapy. In some cases, therapy and coaching can happen in sequence, for example, a few months of therapy and then transition to coaching. Oftentimes coaching and therapy can occur during the same period of time while focusing on different aspects and complement each other in accelerating the progress. Here’re a few client examples.
Sam has a PhD in biochemistry, is the author of dozens of patents, and head of R&D in a biotech company. Despite his various accomplishments, he always feels not enough, and believes that he could have done better and should work much harder to achieve more success.
| Coaching | Sam: I remember when I was 10 years old and got a B on my report card, my father was so furious and disciplined me for that miss. Coach: Oh I’m sorry to hear that. It sounds like your father definitely had very high expectations of your academic accomplishment as a child. Now as an adult, what choice would you make about your accomplishment? [The following conversation could focus on how a previous belief structure manifest in the present, bring awareness and potential change.] |
| Therapy | Sam: I remember when I was 10 years old and got a B on my report card, my father was so furious and disciplined me for that miss. Therapy: Oh I’m sorry to hear that. It sounds like a traumatic experience for you. Tell me more about that. [The following conversation could focus on processing that memory and experience, construct a better relationship and narrative around it.] |
Lauren has been struggling with binge eating problems for years and was not able to control her weight. She suffered an abusive childhood, and has been using eating and obesity to feel safer.
| Coaching | Lauren: Everytime I think about all the diet and exercise efforts I need to take in order to bring my weight down, it’s just too much and horrifies me. Coach: The efforts surely sound daunting when they are perceived as a big chunk. We can try breaking it down to make them more manageable. What would be some immediate things you could do in the next week to get started? [The following conversation could focus on chunking down the acion tasks and motivate the client to take small steps towards a big goal.] |
| Therapy | Lauren: I hate how I look in the mirror; but I’m also fearful if I lose weight. Therapy: I understand that you started to have the eating problem in middle school. What was your memory and experience about your weight and appearance back then? [The following conversation could focus on understanding the past and how it builds an unconscious and limiting belief about her weight.] |
In therapy, one of the major goals is to heal a person. Catching on an emotional event and diving deep into processing the past is a key element. In coaching, on the other hand, we choose to briefly dip into emotions, with which we use as a cue to focus our position in the present and our path for the future.
In essence, knowing what type of resources would be beneficial to an individual shouldn’t reside solely within the coach’s toolkit. It’s a vital piece of knowledge that empowers the client, too. The path to self-discovery and a fulfilling life is a dynamic journey, with each individual at different phases and requiring unique forms of support. As a coach, my deepest satisfaction lies in acting as a dedicated partner and companion, providing and suggesting the tailored resources necessary to illuminate and ease the steps of their remarkable journey.
