Understanding the Differences between Professional Coaches and Mental Health Practitioners (Therapists, Psychologists, Psychiatrists, or Counselors)

When seeking support for personal or professional growth or challenges, it’s important to understand the distinctions between professional coaching and therapy. While both offer valuable guidance, they differ in purpose, methods, and outcomes. Let’s explore these differences by topic to help you determine which path is right for you.

Despite common confusion between the two professions, coaching is not therapy although some therapists are also coaches. Discover 8 differences between coaches and mental health practitioners, such as therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, and counselors.

1. Purpose, Focus, and Area of Expertise

   • Coaching is designed to empower individuals to achieve specific goals, whether in leadership, relationships, spirituality, conflict resolution, or teamwork. It’s future-focused and action-oriented. While there are mental health coaches, there are many types of coaches that deal with issues besides mental health, such as leadership coaches and conflict coaches. Coaches do not heal trauma. Sometimes, a coaching client will be “uncoachable” for not being able to achieve goals because they have an underlying mental health issue or trauma that needs to be resolved in therapy before they can receive coaching again.

   • Therapy with a social worker or a clinical psychologist addresses mental and emotional health challenges, often exploring past experiences to understand and heal psychological issues. The focus is on healing specifically related to the mental health of a patient. Therapists can often deal with deeper issues, such as trauma, that coaches do not address.

     
     

2. Diagnosis and Treatment

   • Therapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists are licensed to diagnose and treat mental illnesses such as anxiety, depression, or schizophrenia. Psychiatrists can prescribe medicine to treat mental health conditions.

   • Coaches do not diagnose or treat mental health conditions. Their role is to support growth, awareness, self-reflection, and goal attainment, not clinical care. Coaches do not view their clients as having something wrong with them that needs to be fixed because they are viewed as whole, creative, and resourceful human beings. While coaches can work in tandem with someone receiving therapy, coaches cannot replace therapy. For example, while a psychologist might recommend that patients get out and move, a coach might explore with clients how to make a plan to exercise more outdoors and overcome the obstacles to doing so (e.g., competing priorities, not feeling like exercising, rain).

     
     

3. Listening Style and Relationship

   • Coaches listen with the intent to empower clients to achieve goals, offering space, provoking thought, and an accountability structure. However, coaching sessions are not supposed to be venting sessions.

   • Therapists, clinical psychologists, and social workers provide a space for clients to explore thoughts and emotions freely, often without time constraints or specific outcomes.

     
     

4. Tools and Techniques

   • Coaching draws from a variety of disciplines to offer practical tools for change, often to empower clients to envision the future, discover blocks to achieving their goals, or gain awareness of the current state of their life, relationships, needs, and skills. For example, coaches can use neurolinguistic programming (NLP) (which is similar to guided imagery to access the subconscious), the wheel of life, assessments (e.g., values, Hogan, MBTI, DISC, StrengthsFinder, FIRO), and more.  

   • Therapy uses evidence-based therapeutic techniques grounded in clinical psychology and mental health research.

   
   

5. Process Orientation: what coaching or therapy resolves

   • Coaching focuses on the “how”—how to move forward, how to overcome obstacles, and how to reach goals.

   • Therapy often focuses on the “what”—what’s causing distress, what needs healing, what it means that something happened, and what patients need to do.

     
     

6. Relationship with Clients

   • Therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, or social workers have an unequal relationship with clients (patients). Psychologists (and similar mental health professionals) are considered the experts who tell patients what they should do. They evaluate patients, including determining whether they need to be in a conservatorship.

   • Coaches and coaching clients are equals, as the coaching relationship is one of a partnership. Unlike a mentor or doctor, professional coaches do not tell or order others what to do. Coaches are in charge of the coaching process, and clients are in charge of doing the work to think about and reach their goals.

   
   

7. Confidentiality v. Privilege

   • Communication in therapy sessions can be protected by doctor-patient privilege.

   • Communication in coaching sessions is confidential, but they do not carry legal privilege.

     
     

8. Insurance and Payment

   • Therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, or social workers may accept health insurance, depending on their credentials and your provider, because they are health providers.

   • Coaches typically operate on a private-pay basis, and health insurance does not cover coaching services because coaches do not provide medical care.

Which Path Is Right for You?

If you're looking to optimize performance, navigate transitions, prioritize, or set and achieve goals, coaching may be the right fit. If you're experiencing emotional distress, mental health concerns, or need clinical support, therapy is likely the better choice.

Both offer powerful support, just in different ways.

Explore more insights and resources at www.biglittleinsights.com.