Coaching vs. Therapy

I often come across people who seem to associate coaching with therapy, or who aren’t really clear on the difference between the two. So I thought it might be of value to share the International Coaching Federation’s explanation of the differences between coaching and therapy. Enjoy!

Coaching can be distinguished from therapy in a number of ways. First, coaching is a profession that supports personal and professional growth and development based on individual-initiated change in pursuit of specific actionable outcomes. These outcomes are linked to personal or professional success. Coaching is forward moving and future focused.

Therapy, on the other hand, deals with healing pain, dysfunction and conflict within an individual or a relationship between two or more individuals. The focus is often on resolving difficulties arising from the past which hamper an individual's emotional functioning in the present, improving overall psychological functioning, and dealing with present life and work circumstances in more emotionally healthy ways.

Therapy outcomes often include improved emotional/feeling states. While positive feelings/emotions may be a natural outcome of coaching, the primary focus is on creating actionable strategies for achieving specific goals in one's work or personal life.

The emphasis in a coaching relationship is on action, accountability and follow through.

Source: Branding and Marketing Subcommittee (Jan Austin, MCC, Val Williams, MCC, Nora Klaver, MCC and Ariane Cherbuliez, PCC) www.coachfederation.org