Coaching vs. Therapy

So, you've recognized that you've got some trauma in your past and you'd like to work through it and begin to make some meaningful changes in your life moving forward. As you're looking at options for professional support, you actually have a ton of options with even more specialties available all over the country.

I've written another article about how to choose which kind of therapy is best for you - it's linked here.

If you've narrowed it down to finding a therapist/counselor and a coach, let's discuss what the differences are so you can make an informed choice.

The National Institute of Mental Health states that therapy is utilized to "gain relief from symptoms, maintain or enhance daily functioning, and improve quality of life."

Now - there are tons of different specialties to explore within psychotherapy like EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing), CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy), IFS (internal family systems, MBCT (mindfulness-based cognitive therapy), among so many others.

(I know, tons of acronyms, right!?)

Therapy can look a bit different depending on your goals and who you choose as a therapist. From my personal and professional experience, therapy usually works with struggles, issues, patterns, and relationships that are present in your day-to-day life that you can't seem to change on your own or would like more perspective on. Therapy helps you find your own answers. Everyone's experience will likely be different - and you can expect to take a look at your upbringing, your habits, the way you handle stress, and identify what you really want in your life.

Therapists usually work with you to define a possible diagnosis and create a treatment plan for you to reduce your symptoms of mental or emotional discomfort.

As we take a look at coaching:

The University of Denver, Department of Social Work explains that Trauma Coaching is "a way of understanding the presence of past trauma, its current effects on a client, and how to use their resiliency to guide them along their path toward solution-focused growth."

There are also many specialties among coaches like Life Coaches, Trauma Coaches, Business Coaches, Fitness Coaches, Relationship Coaches, and Spiritual Coaches, among many others.

(Here, there's fewer acronyms, but what do you choose and why?)

Coaching can also look different depending on your goals. The best way (in my opinion) to choose a coach is to figure out which area of life would make the biggest impact on the other areas if you changed it. If you had a better career, would you have more time to work on your personal growth? If you had better fitness, would you have more rewarding experiences with your kids? You can even contact a coach to find out what you want or need or what area of life would make the biggest difference for you - creating some momentum for change in the other areas.

I can't give you a ton of details on "Life Coaches." I really don't like the term because I don't think one person can give you all the answers in your life and I think too many people become cheap life coaches as a "side hustle" rather than to truly benefit the deep relationships and experiences of their clients.

But I do believe we, as professional coaches, can specialize in and work with many life experiences within our expertise.

I'm an Integrative Trauma Coach. What that means in super simple terms is that when we work together - we bring up a ton of baggage that's been keeping you from actually achieving what you want (we identify and then release trauma without re-traumatizing). Then we create really powerful resources, goals, habits, and mind-body connection to move you forward into a life you really love. There are always weekly opportunities to address behaviors, patterns, desires, struggles, injuries, time restrictions, and relationships that keep you from being fulfilled.

It's different from therapy as we spend a lot less time looking at the past, and a lot more time creating, managing, and building the present and future.

And guess what? You can do BOTH.

For my clients who have difficult jobs (like first responders), or for those who manage a lot of relationships (like someone with a large family, or an executive with many rapportees) - I actually recommend you have both a therapist and a coach. And that you continue to develop yourself in other ways that get you to be vulnerable and open up to new human connections.

This can look like new mindfulness habits, professional trainings, breathwork, retreats, new kinds of exercise, yoga, or reading developmental materials.

So how do you choose between coaching and therapy?

Find out what you most want or need at this time.

Is it working with past childhood wounds (like self-sabotage or isolating) and creating support and resources around how you act? - Therapy.

Is it that you feel pretty resourced or don't have a ton of trauma and really want to hone in and be accountable for your results at work? - Coaching

If you feel like you've got a bit of everything going on and don't know where to start - pick a professional that you build trust with.

Remember that a therapeutic relationship goes both ways - the professional should be able to skillfully help you to achieve what you'd like to achieve. And you should feel comfortable, safe, and supported by the professional. So, as you search for one - do a bit of an interview. Make sure they can work with your deepest-level issues and that they can support you through whatever life throws your way.

You can always schedule your first session for free with me by using the calendar link for a strategy session here.

And if you're in the Missoula area, I've got some great recommendations for therapists depending on what you're looking for.

I honor your intention to begin to make some meaningful changes in your life, and I hope this article was helpful. Let me know where you end up and be sure to share your learnings!

Be well,
Anne