Life Coaching or Therapy

I would like to explain the difference between Life Coaching and counseling. Many people seem to get confused between the two and will lean toward hiring a therapist over a Life Coach simply because they are unsure how a great Life Coach can help them move forward in their life.

There are some subtle differences and some fundamental ones. Firstly and probably most importantly, Life Coaching tends to be far less interested in the past than therapy, preferring instead to focus on the future. The starting point of the Life Coaching relationship it to establish the end goal or goals for the client and then work out the most efficient path to realize those goals.

Also, Life Coaches are on the whole less concerned with how a client feels about things that have happened in the past, and more interested with how they want to feel in the future. That is not to say that a clients past experiences and feelings are not important, just that they cannot be influenced and as such a good Life Coach will not spend a long time delving into a clients past.

Another significant difference is that on the whole Life Coaching is a much faster process than counseling or psychotherapy. With the exception of maintenance or accountability coaching, Life Coaching contracts are usually measured in weeks as opposed to months or even years as can often the case with therapy.

Life Coaches often have a greater degree of flexibility than therapists and can utilize tools like NLP (neurolinguistic programming), EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) and even hypnotherapy. Although this has changed somewhat in recent years as more therapists have started to embrace NLP.

I am not making an argument for or against either process, both have their value in the right circumstances, but they are inherently different and if you are considering hiring a therapist it maybe that a good Life Coach can help you get the results you want much quicker.

Are you looking for a life coach to help you get clear about the life you really want? Be sure to visit my site to learn more about life coaching.