What’s the Difference Between Life Coaches and Therapists?

As helping professions, life coaching and therapy seem to look a lot like each other. But they differ in fundamental ways. Whether you are looking to hire a life coach or a therapist but don’t know whom to hire, or are considering obtaining a life coach certificate or doing a therapist training course to get started, you are at the right place. Let’s start exploring the differences between the two right away.

Definition

Coaching is by definition “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.” Source: International Coaching Federation

Therapy (short for Psychotherapy), on the other hand, is a general term for a variety of treatment methods for treating psychological, behavioral, or emotional disorders.

Scope of practice

From the definition of therapy, it follows that therapists diagnose, assess, and treat anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, ADHD, PTSD, anorexia, and many other disorders. Therapists usually work with their patients on a long-term basis, helping them overcome emotional and behavioral problems to lead healthy and fulfilling life.

Coaching is usually a short-term engagement between a life coach and a client to achieve specific goals in the realms of career, health, relationships, spirituality, family life, life skills, leadership, self-growth, and so on. Life coaches do not deal with mental illnesses and are not in the business of treating any disorders. They help clients reach their maximum potential and achieve happiness and success along the way.

Orientation

Life coaches are present- and future-oriented. They help their clients look at where they are and where they want to be and co-create the desired future. When they do look back at the past, it is to help the clients better understand their belief systems and current life experiences.

Therapists, by contrast, create a safe space for their patients to overcome hurt or trauma from the past. It explores past issues to help patients overcome negative patterns of behavior that obstruct their ability to function to the best of their ability in the present.

Certification & Licensing requirements

A life coach certificate is not a mandatory requirement for life coaches. However, having a life coach certificate from a reputable organization is highly recommended both to deepen your knowledge of the theory and practice of life coaching and to increase the confidence that comes from having solid training. If you are thinking of hiring a life coach, make sure they have a life coach certificate.

As far as therapist training courses are concerned, the minimum course you need to do is a Bachelor’s degree. Most therapists, however, have a Master’s degree and many have advanced degrees like Ph.D. PsyD, or MD. To further expand your knowledge, you can do a number of specialized therapist training courses in fields like community counseling, couples counseling, and addiction studies.

Therapists are licensed professionals. In order to provide therapy, they must first pass their state’s licensing board exam and can only practice in the state in which they are licensed. There are no such requirements for life coaches since coaching is still largely an unregulated field.

Insurance coverage

Finally, since they are licensed professionals, the services of therapists are covered by insurance, provided you meet the criteria for the disorder and your insurance company deems therapy necessary for you.

Coaching services, on the other hand, are not usually covered by insurance except in the case of certain coaching niches like health coaching, which some companies have begun to reimburse for and more are expected to follow suit.