Do I Need a Transformational Coach or a Therapist?

It’s a very good question.

And an important one.

Coaching and therapy are different even though they overlap in places. Let’s take a moment to clarify the difference:

Therapy

Traditionally, a therapist helps you when you’re “below baseline” and you want to get back to stasis. Think about a graphing line that looks like this:

The traditional goal of therapy is to get people up to zero. It often focuses on gaining insight from the past and the subconscious and dissecting that insight ad nauseum without translating it into immediately actionable steps to be utilized in the present. (I mean, think about it—we only dissect things that are DEAD, amirite?)

Therapy is typically reserved for the treatment of those with a diagnosable mental illness and requires an actual diagnosis. Therefore, the focus of therapy is typically on the treatment of mental illness or disorders.

Unfortunately, however, almost anything these days can be crammed into a diagnostic category that would allow one to qualify as “mentally ill”—whether you truly have a mental illness/disorder or not. Which can translate into you having an inappropriate mental health diagnosis on your permanent medical file—impacting things like military service, working in certain professions, and premiums on things like disability and life insurance.

Don’t get me wrong. I’ve invested half my life into being a therapist. I think therapy plays a very important role in people’s lives and believe that the advances made in the fields of psychology and counseling are greatly improving the field. I am NOT anti-therapy.

I do think, however, that it’s not the best tool for every situation.

Coaching

Coaching, on the other hand, helps with distress and is especially beneficial when you’re already at baseline and you want more. When you want to start from around the zero on our graphing line and move forward.

This means not all individuals who want help living a better life have a mental health disorder and need a mental health provider.

Perhaps you’re looking for a breakthrough in your life. Perhaps you’re not “sick,” you’re just STUCK. Or perhaps you have spent many hours venting to friends or have done your time in therapy but still feel unsettled and unclear about what to do next.  You just need concrete steps to create the intentional transformation you desire.

Transformational coaching is for highly motivated people who are willing to risk being actively uncertain and uncomfortable for a season by pressing INTO their pain or discomfort in order to become the person they truly want to be.

As previously mentioned, there is, of course, some overlap—and some of the “magic,” honestly, is in the relationship you have with the practitioner you choose. (The therapeutic relationship alone has consistently been found to account for up to 35% of outcome effectiveness in counseling; Thomas, 2006)

For instance, as a licensed professional counselor AND as a trained transformational coach, I could work with some very similar circumstances, albeit in a slightly different manner. Things like:

• Recovery from past traumas and the deprogramming of triggers
• Working through and treating depression or anxiety
• Overcoming the loss of a loved one
• Working through a major, disruptive life transition
• Processing and living out a life-altering diagnosis
• Addressing maladaptive coping mechanisms that are negatively impacting areas of your life
• Identifying and overcoming behaviors that are holding you back
• Adjusting to a huge loss or change

I happen to believe, based on both new learning and personal experience, that transformational coaching is the better tool for these situations. I think the many people who have been in traditional therapy for years and still are not where they want to be would concur.

Let me help facilitate identifying and clearing away the obstacles to the transformation you desire so you can begin learning the habits necessary to create healthy thought processes that drive action.

By asking the right questions, holding space, giving you a path, and challenging you beyond your comfort zone, I will work with you to create the RE|formation you desire.

The Caveat

As an integrated/alternative provider, I will neither provide nor treat mental health diagnoses. Even though I am a licensed mental health provider, in this capacity I am not operating as a licensed therapist providing traditional mental health treatment.

I will discuss your needs to ensure they are able to be addressed within coaching. If you require more than what is able to be provided through coaching, I will make a referral to an appropriate licensed provider. I will collaborate with healthcare providers and coordinate care to support what whatever you most need at the time.