I’m about to say something that may sound a bit radical.
Maybe you don’t need therapy.
Don’t get me wrong – I’ve personally found therapy to be helpful. Therapy helped me to find my voice, and to trust and listen to that voice. Therapy is what inspired me to become a coach. And someday, I think I might like to become a therapist because it could help me to help more people.
How to tell whether or not you should try therapy
This week, I passed the exam that credentials me as an Associate Certified Coach. As part of my coaching training leading up to the exam, I studied the differences between coaching and therapy, and when to refer a client to therapy.
In a previous post, I wrote that therapy tends to be more backwards-looking while coaching is forwards-looking. This is an easy way to understand it from the client’s perspective.
From the coach’s perspective, however, it comes down to this:
Is there something that appears to be impeding the client’s ability to function in their daily life?
If the answer to this question is yes, then therapy is likely to be a more appropriate option than coaching.
If you’re thinking about going to therapy, or even if you’re already in therapy, I invite you to ask yourself this question.
If the answer is yes, and you’re not already going to therapy, then I encourage you to reach out to a therapist. A great first step is just googling “therapists in [insert your location here]”. You’ll find lists of therapists for your area that you can learn more about and contact for an initial consultation.
If the answer to the above question is no, then you might consider trying coaching, because a qualified coach will be well-equipped to support you.
What types of things can coaching help with?
Here are the types of things that I’ve coached my clients on that you don’t necessarily need therapy for:
- Making a career pivot (like from Data Analytics to Coaching!)
- Getting unstuck / finding motivation
- Making a big life decision (like moving countries!)
- Overcoming imposter syndrome
- Building self-confidence
- Overcoming fear of failure
- Finding work-life balance
- Showing up authentically (in multiple contexts, including in dating)
- Dealing with overwhelm
- Building healthy habits
You might notice something in common among the items in the list above.
They all start with action words. Overcoming. Building. Finding. Making. Getting.
Coaching is solutions-focused and action-oriented. It’s about translating the insights that you gain about yourself during coaching into forward motion.
If you’re feeling like you could use a bit of forward motion on something in your life, coaching may benefit you. If this is the case, send me a message. Let’s see how I can support you to make it happen.