Coaching
What is Coaching?
When most people hear the word coaching*, they picture a whistle-blowing sports coach yelling, “Run faster!”—but life, wellness, and health coaching are a totally different game (and yes, you get to sit down for this one). Life coaching is all about helping you figure out where you want to go in life and then giving you the tools, support, and accountability to get there. Think of it as having a personal guide through the messy, confusing, and sometimes overwhelming twists and turns of life. Whether you’re dealing with stress, big transitions, or just feeling “stuck,” coaching helps you set goals, move past roadblocks, and grow into the version of yourself you actually want to be.
Now, here’s where it’s important to clear up a big misconception: coaching is **not** the same as therapy or counseling. Therapy tends to focus on healing the past and processing emotions, while coaching is more about taking action and moving forward. It’s like the difference between patching up a leaky boat (therapy) and learning how to steer the darn thing toward the island of your dreams (coaching). Both are incredibly valuable, and sometimes you need one, sometimes you need the other, and often the two together can work wonders. Coaching complements therapy beautifully, but it’s not a replacement for it—just as therapy isn’t a replacement for coaching.
And here’s the best part: coaching can make a **huge** difference in your life, often faster than you think. With the right coach in your corner, you gain clarity, direction, and the motivation to actually follow through on the changes you want to make. Life coaching isn’t about telling you what to do or fixing you (spoiler: you’re not broken). It’s about unlocking your strengths, creating doable action steps, and helping you feel confident in navigating whatever life throws your way. Whether you have a Ph.D. or you’re simply a graduate of the “School of Hard Knocks,” coaching meets you where you are and helps you build the life you’ve been dreaming about—minus the whistle and wind sprints.
What a coach does
Coaching can be a huge help during times of struggle, but it's important to differentiate the work of a coach from the work of a psychologist, therapist, counselor, social worker, psychiatrist, etc. Below is a partial list of what a coach can help you with.
What a coach does not do
As mentioned above, coaching and therapy/counseling are similar, but have stark differences and it's important to understand those differences to get the best support from each. Below is a list of what a licensed mental health professional can help with.