The Difference Between Coaching And Therapy

Are you wondering about the difference between coaching and therapy? Sometimes, the answers given by coaches can seem confusing, vague and hard to grasp in practical terms.

For example, coaching is about looking to the future and therapy is about reviewing your past.

My own style of coaching is about alignment with your creative self, which I would call your true self.

This is achieved by asking a series of probing questions in order to arrive at a place of clarity around who you are and what really matters to you.

And from that place of clarity, take action to remove, undo, or create distance from all the things, people or circumstances that are not aligned with what is true for you at your core.

After clearing away the things that don’t matter, you would direct all of your energy towards creating a life that feels aligned with your soul.

That’s a mouthful, right?

Well, I stumbled upon an even more precise and insightful definition of what I would call coaching from Julia Cameron in her book, Walking In This World.

In her book, Julia talks about the difference between making art and going to therapy.

I believe her comparison can be applied directly to the difference between coaching and therapy.

Here is a summary of what Julia said.

Making Art vs. Therapy In The Words of Julia Cameron

“Therapy is used to arrive at an accommodation of our grudges. The aim of most therapy is to feel less badly.

Art is an action; not reaction. Dipping directly into oneself as source, we create something new that would not exist without us as its origin. For this reason, art is affirming in a way therapy is not.

Therapy aims at making us normal.

Art aims at expressing our originality.

Enlightened therapy is accepting how we feel.

Art is expressing how we feel.

Therapy adjusts us to the world.

Art adjusts the world itself.

Art is triumphant.

At its best, therapy is acquiescence.

Therapy constructs a self.

Art presupposes and asserts a self.

Art says: I am.

Therapy says: They were, therefore, I am.

Therapy makes something of what we were.

Art makes something of what we are.”

Applying The Definition of Art To Coaching

As a coach, I am assuming you already have a core identity that has been and is intact, so there is no need to revisit your past or review what “they did to you.”

I believe you have ALWAYS had the power to define who you are; however, it is easy to forget this.

My job is to help you see through the lies and cultural conditioning that we have all taken on from the outside world and direct your focus inward to your core.

Why?

Because that is where your truth resides. And connecting to it is how you will create a life that is aligned with your truth and you will flourish.

It doesn’t come from listening to someone else telling you what you should be doing.

It comes from taking the time to listen to yourself, and defining or rediscovering who you are and consciously create from that place.

I am interested in helping you reconnect to your core first, then creating and living from that space.

Coaching, like making art, at its best, is empowering and inspiring because it assumes you alone have the power to create what you want, no matter where you come from or what you have been through.

It is personal responsibility on steroids.

Therapy is about allowing yourself the space to process and heal wounds. It is about creating a safe space to discuss how you have been hurt, traumatized and possibly, victimized by others.

Coaching, like art, starts from a place of seeing yourself as a creator rather than a victim.

It assumes you have the freedom to choose what you want, so there is no need to dwell on your past.

Coaching also assumes you have ALL of the answers inside of you.

My job is to support you in defining what that means to you, and creating a plan to help you achieve it.

I hope these examples have given you with a little more clarity around what coaching is and what you can expect if you decide to hire a life coach.

P.S. If you would like more clarity on what the experience of alignment and being on purpose feels like, grab a copy of 8 Tips To Nurture Your Creativity.