Coaches don’t “treat” mental health disorders.
- Coaches are collaborators rather than psychological “experts.”
- Therapists rely on psychological theory, etiology and treatment plans for wisdom while coaches look within the client for wisdom.
- Therapy often asks, “Why?” and concerns itself with the client’s past; coaching often asks, “What?” and concerns itself more with the present and future.
- Therapy seeks to single out and fix unresolved psychological issues; coaching is more concerned with thinking and behavioral patterns in the pursuit of greater fulfillment, dynamic balance and big goals.
- Co-Active coaching focuses on the client’s whole life; traditional psychotherapy targets specific symptoms.
- Traditional therapists withhold intuitive thoughts; coaches blurt intuitive thoughts.