Difference Between Life Coaching and Counseling
Nicola Beer is a certified life coach, hypnotherapist and transpersonal counsellor. She combines all three methods to help her clients get results fast. For people who are not in the field of life coaching or counseling, it can be confusing to know what the difference is between the two, however, it is quite simple. Let me explain further.
The Aim of Life Coaching
Life coaches tend to focus on a goal orientated approach – helping clients look forward by setting goals and working on any barriers they may have so that they can reach their goals in a more holistic way, whereas a counselor tends to focus on current emotional issues or a specific situation that could be causing distress to an individual.
A certified life coach would be ideal for someone who wants to explore their strengths and weaknesses, who wants to build their confidence, who wants to become financially independent and needs motivation in order to make life changes to become a happier more successful version of themselves. Life coaches will push you to challenge yourself and move forward in life. For example, if you have always wanted to open up your own business but have lacked the confidence or knowledge to do so, a life coach can help you explore potential options with you, help you identify what your ideal goal for a business is and how you can take that step forward to running a successful business.
The Goals of Counseling
Counselors promote healing from the past, resolving emotional issues that are creating more problems and provide you with coping mechanisms to deal with situations that bring up past issues. For example, if you have struggled with your mental health, if you are struggling with the loss of a loved one, if you have any form of addiction that you want to work through, if you have suffered an abusive childhood and need to work on healing from your past, a counselor is the person to seek support from. They can talk you through your problems and suggest coping strategies to put in place to break bad or destructive habits. Counselors are trained to deal with complex emotions, help clients feel at peace with themselves and to deal with what they have been through – focusing on empathy and understanding.
Life coaches do not diagnose clients with specific issues or medication, instead they focus on empowering clients to identify the areas of their life that they want to improve and what they need to change in order to get there. A counselor is trained to listen but also look out for concerning behaviour patterns and illnesses that could be posing a serious problem to their client’s wellbeing. That is why having someone who practices coaching, counseling and hypnotherapy can be of great benefit.
Life coaches are very much action orientated – helping clients explore their own problem-solving skills with the focus on reaching their targets and goals in life. Ultimately, working with a life coach will provide you with the path to get you to where you want to be, improve the skills you need to be a successful individual or organization and how to create the best work/life balance.