A therapist is a licensed mental health professional with a master’s degree in psychology. They use talk therapy to help you explore and unpack your past and provide support for the present. Together, you can develop better cognitive and emotional skills to help you cope with life’s challenges and work through old wounds. Therapy is a tool that is often covered by medical benefits or insurance.
While a therapist often focuses on your past and present, a coach helps you look at the present and the future. We help you identify patterns in your past behavior so you can work towards a healthy future. We work on specific goals and actions to keep you motivated in your journey and unpack things when you get stuck. Most times, the work is tailored to you (although other coaches may craft their work differently), and will help you work through limited beliefs and unhealthy patterns.
Coaches often have direct experience in their area of practice, meaning they can empathize with you on a deeper level. For example, I can draw on my own experiences to give you practical, relatable tips for moving forward. I use a wide range of tools to help you make progress – drawing from the skills I learned in coaching school, to my yoga background, to other certifications, to real life lessons.
I also take every client through a Discovery Session at the start of our coaching relationship. A Discovery Session is our foundational session. It is a deep dive on you. We cover all areas of life (even if that isn’t our focus) and lay everything out. We also look at your past and pull out the relevant details that shaped who you are today.
Therapy and coaching are both powerful tools for lasting change. If you’re not sure which one is right for you, you can set up a Clarity Call with me to talk it over.
