Maybe You Need a Life Coach, Not a Therapist—Here's the Difference

Whether you’ve been going to therapy for years or you're just starting to consider seeking professional guidance through a life change or crisis, it never hurts to pause and think about where you are mentally, where you’d like to be, and how to get there. Are the treatments and strategies you’ve been relying on still helping you? Are you making progress with the mental health pro you’re currently working with? Is it time to mix up your approach to mental wellness? Do you need a therapist, or would you actually benefit from a coach?

The percentage of adults getting mental health treatment in the United States has steadily increased since 2019. Therapists and coaches are seeing an enormous influx of new clients, reports technology-enabled mental health group Grow Therapy. But sometimes knowing which type of help to choose—therapy? A life coach?—is a difficult hurdle to getting the help you truly need.

Life Coaching vs. Therapy

Therapy, of which there are several different types, is generally understood as a treatment approach based on a mental health diagnosis, such as anxiety, stress, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. There is a focus on identifying, understanding, and finding solutions for whatever problems the client is facing. 

While coaching may have elements of healing, and there is often overlap, its overall premise is often proactive, goal-oriented, and future-oriented.

“Coaching has much more of a strength-based approach,” explains Jamie Blume, professional certified coach (PCC) and founder of Along Their Way. “We're here right now. We're still going to be working on thoughts, beliefs, and emotions that come up, maybe from childhood or past trauma. But we're really focusing on what's working, where we want to get to, and moving forward.”

Such an approach offers guidance and support in a strategic and goal-oriented manner, rather than relieving deeper aggravations, unpacking past experiences, and exploring emotions.

“Coaching offers tangible steps in moving forward to your future self, versus therapy, which is [often] more about untangling the problems,” says Ariana Cleo, a wellness influencer and founder of the digital resume software company Watertight. A mother of two, Cleo launched her business with her husband during the pandemic—overwhelmed by being cooped up and overall life stress, she received advice to try working with a life coach rather than a therapist—and it changed everything, both personally and professionally. Working with a coach allowed her to compartmentalize different aspects of her life and move forward with clear direction. “I wanted to bring even more love and work better with my partner; I wanted to be a better parent,” she says. “So I had this step-by-step program that moved me toward my future self and said: OK, this is what I want my life to look like. This is who I want to be. This is what I want my partnership to look like.”

Therapy Is Primarily a Health-Oriented Approach

“Therapy involves a more insightful and health-oriented approach,” explains Greg Lozano, a licensed professional counselor at Grow Therapy. “It also tends to have an emotional component to it that requires more care in its use when applying it. In coaching, there is [less or none of this] emotional component, but rather more guidance than a connection.” 

Therapy is often (though not always) covered by insurance.

Traditional therapy is considered a medical treatment often covered by most insurance companies, depending on the practitioner. Individual states strictly regulate the required training. A practicing therapist career requires a minimum of a master’s degree, followed by demonstrated competency in the material by taking a national examination and completing an extensive internship program. A variation of several of these requirements is determined by a governing board in each state with strict expectations that must be met throughout the career. Renewal of one’s license to practice as a therapist requires a minimum amount of education credits. The rigorous training and a standardized oversight required for therapists makes this type of mental health professional an accredited mental health resource. “The training that therapists receive is something that can provide reassurances to insurance companies that what they pay for can result in meaningful help for the client they are insuring,” Lozano says. With that, patients are most often led to work with certified therapists.

Types of Therapy

Therapy is an umbrella term under which there are many distinct types, often customized to any particular patient's needs. 

“There are different therapy approaches in the field of counseling, the main ones being psychodynamic, humanistic, and cognitive approaches,” Lozano explains, adding that each one has its own distinct way of addressing, interpreting, and treating the issues at hand. “With the psychodynamic orientation one explores inner conflict as it relates to their past. Humanistic approaches emphasize the ability of clients themselves to be capable of change with support and guidance from their therapist. Cognitive approaches address the postulated thinking patterns that result in challenging emotions and inner struggles,” he says.  

But even with this plethora of available therapy options out there, therapy won’t be the best approach for some individuals. Working in the past or on their problems may leave individuals swirling and overthinking, rather than acting and creating positive change. This is where coaching can help.

Coaching Helps You Set and Achieve Goals

Coaching offers momentum to advance in life in a desired direction. Patients propel themselves into the next stage of their life through critical thinking and curious questioning.

“[Coaches] are changing people's lives every single day because what we're doing is allowing people to start believing in themselves,” Blume says. “We are allowing people to tap into their strength, into what brings them positive sources of energy, into what makes them come alive. We offer them the opportunity to get out of their way, to wipe away the negativity piled on for so long, and to be able to launch forward into creating the life they want.” 

Coaches are not covered by insurance, but they still have specific training and credentials.

While health insurance companies do not cover coaching, becoming a certified life coach also requires proper training and accreditation. However, it often receives a bad reputation because of the many uncertified, self-proclaimed life coaches out there—something especially easy to fall prey to on social media platforms. The International Coaching Federation is the only standard of coaching to date. It includes training, ethics examination, and foundational coaching principles. Submission of coaching recordings, mentoring hours, and continuous reviews are also essential.

The program includes three levels: Associate Certified Coach (ACC,) Professional Certified Coach (PCC,) and Master Certified Coach (MCC.) While all three certifications are valid, the Master certification includes guidance through pure listening without enabling ways and manners to advance. It is an art form that encourages the patient to take action through non-verbal guidance. 

Types of Coaches

There are also many different kinds of coaches available to choose from based on your specific needs. You’ve likely heard of career coaches, relationship coaches, fitness coaches, executive coaches, and general life coaches for motivation, accountability, and support. 

“I'm a leadership coach, specifically. Leadership is about responsibility and ownership,” Antoinette Beauchamp, certified leadership coach (and Cleo’s coach). “What I do is empower people to take ownership and responsibility over their decisions, how they think, and how they feel. With that ownership, they start to make changes.” 

Beachamp explains how a coach can help you identify what you want to focus on and how to make the progress you want to make. “You'd want to look for two things,” she says. “One, the area where you might have the most challenges. And two, the area where you really have strong desires. It's about identifying your core desires and then making decisions toward [them].” 

In many ways, coaching helps you write a handbook or create a map with actionable steps toward a better future for yourself. 

Many People Benefit From Both Coaching and Therapy

Trauma healing is often necessary; understanding and managing your emotions is vital; and learning how to handle stress and build resilience is important for everyone; and sometimes these two fields of self-betterment can work together. 

“The beauty is that coaches and therapists can work together to help to support the client—it doesn't have to be one or the other,” Blume explains. If there is deeper emotional work or self-actualization that needs to happen, or they need to be monitored or medicated, a “therapist can be doing that work, [while coaches] can support that day to day.” 

Coaches often recommend therapy to their patients when dealing with deep trauma, depression, anxiety, and other mental issues. While coaches can support that work daily, their job does not include administering medicine (i.e. like psychiatrist) and/or providing treatment for mental health concerns.

You may also benefit from a licensed therapist with coaching experience—or vice-versa—who can straddle those two needs: unpacking the inner self and also working to make exchanges and decisions externally (two needs that are often very much intertwined and reliant on one another).

In many ways, coaches help build mental fitness. It can offer a blueprint and empower you to achieve important goals step by step.