What is Life Coaching?
Therapist and Life Coach, NJ Therapy & Life Coaching in Voorhees NJ (856) 352-5428 Contact NJ Therapy & Life Coaching
Personal and professional coaching is now the preferred method for individuals to motivate themselves and progress toward achieving life goals. I am often asked which is better – coaching or therapy. The two seem similar, but as I briefly outline below, they are very different.
Therapy or Life Coaching?
Psychotherapy is a method of treating mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, and personality disorders. At its core, psychotherapy focuses on alleviating or resolving the symptoms of mental health disorders. Clients report their signs and symptoms, and the therapist uses their knowledge of psychological treatments to guide the therapeutic process.
The client and therapist will discuss various areas, such as the client’s history or current circumstances affecting their life. The therapist listens and provides feedback that may help the client re-evaluate their history and address current negative circumstances.
Good therapists do not give advice. They help their clients see and understand their lives more clearly and assist in changing dysfunctional thinking and behavior. Although we cannot alter the past, we can revisit it and change our perspective on it. This process helps clients resolve past trauma. New ways of viewing themselves, their past, and their present are explored.
Behavior change and symptom reduction can result as the client begins to change their way of thinking and seeing themselves, others, and the world. Cognitive therapy asserts that thoughts lead to feelings, and feelings lead to behavior. Change your thoughts, and your behavior will change as well. Psychotherapy can be extremely powerful and life-changing.
Coaching is a Partnership
Personal and professional coaching is a collaborative partnership between equals, which sets it apart from traditional psychotherapy. In psychotherapy, there is an inherent power imbalance, as the client depends on the therapist to help identify and resolve symptoms or emotional difficulties. This dynamic is often referred to as the medical model, where one individual assumes the role of the patient and the other functions as the doctor or expert providing treatment.
Mostly, people seeking life coaching aren’t looking to relieve psychiatric symptoms. Instead, they seek inspiration, increased motivation, and support to move toward a more successful and fulfilling life.
In life coaching, clients define their goals and, with the coach, start identifying the obstacles preventing them from achieving those goals. Together, the client and coach work to eliminate these blocks.
Coaches act as teachers, sounding boards, motivators, and planners. People working with a coach aim to reach personal and professional objectives. Many clients also pursue psychotherapy alongside life coaching. Sometimes, clients find that a block hindering their progress needs psychotherapy, such as when they are depressed or experiencing anxiety.
The Coach’s Job
The coach’s role is to help you clarify and discover what matters most to you, assist you in setting the goals you want to achieve, and work with you to overcome obstacles that block your progress. A coach collaborates with you, creating plans that lead to reaching your objectives, and helps you recognize and modify counter-productive behaviors that may hinder your success.
Coaching is for people who want greater success in their personal and professional lives. Like therapy, life coaching is highly effective and often a transformative experience that results in greater satisfaction and fulfillment in life.
With over 30 years of experience as life coaches and therapists, we have seen incredible changes in those we serve. In life coaching, we partner with clients to help them achieve their goals. Ultimately, the aim of life coaching is to help clients attain more tangible personal and professional success.
