Five key differences between Coaching and Counseling
Photo Credit: Scott Webb https://unsplash.com/@scottwebb
Almost without fail, when I meet new people and they learn that I have two psychology degrees, the next question they have for me is “are you psychoanalyzing me?” Of course, the answer is always “no”, but it highlights how context and concepts can often get confused. With the rise of coaching services, the lines between coaching and counseling can and often do get blurred. However, the two are fundamentally different. During my 20-year career as a corporate Human Resources Business Partner, I found myself most often coaching rather than counseling. This skillset has proven to be invaluable in helping accelerate the growth and progress of organizations for which I worked. Currently, I use these same skills to assist not just large corporations, but also individual leaders and business owners to be exceptional and to get the results they deserve.
So, what is the difference between coaching and counseling? While these two are in the same family of disciplines, there are some key differences. Counseling requires a licensed behavioral health professional and is focused on diagnosis and treatment of an unhealthy and disruptive aspect of the client’s life. Coaches are not required to be licensed (but may be), as most often the client is focused on self development and personal growth. Here are five distinctions between coaching and counseling that should be considered to ensure that you are seeking the right type of assistance. While the two can certainly co-exist, the purpose and outcomes of the two approaches vary significantly.
“The difference between the two lies within perspective.”
1. Prospective versus Retrospective
As individuals, we are all on a journey created uniquely for each of us. However, that does not mean we are alone as we navigate this world. As humans, we are designed for connection and for sharing our talents with others. From the lens of both coaching and counseling, we can all use a little help sometimes to find clarity. The difference between the two lies within perspective. The focus of coaching is prospective or future oriented. The goal is to explore what is possible going forward. Counseling tends to be focused retrospectively. The objective is to identify the past trauma or pain that may be blocking a healthy mindset. Depending on what is occurring at a point and time in an individual’s life will dictate which approach is right for the client.
Let’s look at a couple of examples to illustrate the distinction between the two:
Chloe is a young single mom and currently unemployed. She is a certified paralegal. Within the past two years, she has worked for four different law firms. Prior to obtaining her certification as a paralegal, she was a professional photographer. She originally attended college to become a pharmacist, but disenrolled during her third year of undergraduate school. After a bit of probing, she reveals that she left college because a professor from her English literature class told her that she didn’t really have the demeanor of a typical pharmacist. While she really enjoyed the art of photography and produced high quality photographs, she decided to pursue a career as a paralegal because she didn’t really like working with clients. When asked why she left each law firm, the pattern was the same—her co-workers were always difficult to work with and were disrespectful to her. Chloe is seeking guidance on how to find a fulfilling career where she can be successful.
Our second example is Marcus. Marcus is a senior business analyst, newly married and five years into his career at a fast growing technology company. He has been promoted a couple of times with his current employer. He has applied for a couple of management positions within the company, but hasn’t been selected for a management role. He proactively asked for feedback after being declined for each role. While he really loves the company that he works for and he gets along well with his colleagues, he is frustrated and beginning to feel like he will need to pursue opportunities outside of the company in order to advance his career. Marcus grew up in a family without a lot of money to spare. Upon graduating from high school he couldn’t afford to attend college, so he took a job at a cable company which offered a tuition reimbursement benefit. He worked full time during the day and took classes at a local college in the evenings. He secured an entry level analyst position with his current employer—even though he had an associates degree and the job description specified that a bachelor's degree or equivalent was required. The hiring manager was so impressed with what Marcus had already accomplished that he counted his prior work experience as a bachelor’s degree equivalent. Marcus is seeking an opportunity to further advance his career and to earn more money to support his new family.
Which example do you think is more appropriate for coaching and which would benefit from counseling?
Chloe from our first example is obviously smart and talented. However, there are signs that she has a problem interacting with others and maintaining productive relationships both personally and professionally. In order to move past these barriers, a licensed counselor might be best equipped to help her work through these challenges and address old and unhealthy patterns of behavior. This will ultimately help Chloe achieve the successful outcomes she desires. Since Marcus demonstrates a pattern of choices made using a growth mindset, a coach would be more suitable for his situation. A coach can help him leverage new skills and tools to achieve his career aspirations and build a more enriching future.
2. Growth versus Healing
Using our example with Marcus, we can see that growth is a key objective in coaching. A good coach can help their clients explore better and more effective ways of operating. In my practice, I find it especially productive to work with my clients on amplifying their strengths, while developing strength-based solutions for minimizing areas of weakness. In order for these techniques to work, the client must have or adopt a growth mindset. I know I am making progress with a client when the client begins to ask “what’s next?” and shows enthusiasm about doing the next right thing.
In contrast, counseling is rooted in the equally important and hard work of helping clients heal from past hurts, pain or trauma. A skilled counselor works to help clients identify the root cause of their problems. Once identified, the counselor teaches clients specific techniques to successfully navigate life. This could range from anger management techniques to minimize anger stemming from a past injustice that is negatively impacting current relationships to strategies to manage anxiety that started during childhood and are now disrupting normal activities.
3. Opportunity-focused versus Problem-oriented
Coaching aims to help clients seek out and identify opportunities, while counseling is more about identifying problems that are hindering productive relationships and interactions. As a coach, I work with clients on interpersonal dynamics, but it is most often about how to optimize versus fix or repair. Coaching is more about amplifying strengths than overcoming disorders.
Going back to Marcus and Chloe from our previous examples; the focus and orientation of the work they would need to do would differ. Marcus might work with a business coach to identify opportunities that he has not considered for increasing his scope of responsibility, and even his pay. A coach would help him gain clarity on what aspects of leadership appeal to him and help him chart a course of action that will give him the best odds of achieving his goals. Conversely, working with a counselor, Chloe may focus on her past relationships to identify themes and patterns of what did not work, and ultimately led to the severing of those relationships. A counselor would help Chloe recognize the role she might be playing in creating barriers to her own success.
4. Guide versus Practitioner
We’ve talked a lot about coaching versus counseling from a client experience perspective. Now let’s take a few moments to explore the roles of the professional providing each type of service.
Counselors are clinical practitioners that are trained to lead their clients on a path to health and wellness. The counselor is an authority in the relationship. Goals are established and achieved based upon the expertise and advice provided by the counselor. The counselor leads and sets that tone throughout the therapeutic process.
Coaches act as a guide to help clients navigate through a self reflective process to discover new perspectives and possibilities for optimizing their potential outcomes. The client leads the journey of self discovery and actualization. The coach’s role is to point out themes and ask questions that get the client to move beyond their current habits and ways of thinking. The coach is not the expert or the one with all the answers, but rather a collaborator who creates a safe environment for exploration and transformation. While the process may feel subjective, for those invested in doing the work, the results are real and tangible. Coaching helps already high achievers and performers break through barriers and to elevate their outcomes from good or great to exceptional.
5. New approach versus New perspective
By now, I think we all understand the value and role of both approaches. The final distinction that I would like to highlight is the outcome. The outcome of counseling is to approach situations with new perspectives. The work done in counseling is intended to identify ineffective patterns, their root causes and the perspective upon which those patterns were based. In the parable of three blind men and an elephant, each man could only imagine his world based on the perspective of the elephant that he was exposed to. When others described a different reality than what he experienced, it set the stage for conflict and disharmony. However, with new perspectives those conflicts and disconnects could be resolved, resulting in more favorable outcomes for everyone.
Individuals that benefit from coaching typically are experiencing that “what got them to where they are” now, is not as effective for getting them to the next level. The solution is to evolve their approach to match the new desired future state. The focus is on the new goals, developments and insights that will help clients manifest the next chapter of their story.
“We are all living out our personal journeys, but we do not always have to navigate alone. ”
It takes courage to admit when things aren’t working. It is even more admirable to know when to seek out and accept help. We are all living out our personal journeys, but we do not always have to navigate alone. The only way to get to the other side of a challenge is to go through it. As long as you don’t give up, eventually you’ll get to the other side; but having a map or guide sure does help! If you are considering coaching or counseling, feel free to book a discovery session to decide which path is right for you.
I’d like to invite all of you reading this to share in our journey. Please stay in touch with us by giving us a follow on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. If you or someone you know is in need of a service we offer, feel free to get in touch with us.