I get asked this question all the time: anytime I tell people what I do, on discovery calls, on, and sometimes even throughout the journey of my work with clients, “What’s the difference between what you do and therapy?”
Well, when I first started my practice, I found this description by Hayden & Whitworth about the difference between therapy and coaching, and I really loved and appreciated the simplicity of it.
Adapted from Hayden & Whitworth, 1995:
With therapy, you need healing
With coaching, you are whole and only need clarity
Therapy focuses on feelings and past events
Coaching focuses on action and the future
Therapy focuses on the root of the problem
Coaching focuses on solving those problems
Therapy focuses on letting go of old patterns
Coaching focuses on making healthier and more effective choices
After many years of doing both myself and witnessing clients do both, I’ve discovered similarities and differences between coaching and therapy that I’ll share below.
I’m a HUGE fan of therapy. I’ve personally worked with many different therapies, and I wouldn’t be the person I am without them. I’m also a HUGE fan of coaching. Again, I wouldn’t be the person I am without my coaches. I genuinely feel that coaching and therapy complement each other, so considering doing both is kind of a game changer if you’re a go-getter like me 😉 Advice from both professionals comes from different lenses, so it’s worth investing in and doing them both.
What the F*$! is the difference?
Both create a safe space to be heard and seen. With therapy, there are so many different modalities and some are a bit more transformative (ST, EMDR, DBT, NLP, etc) and others are a bit more of a discovery process to start to get curious about our journey (CBT, IFS, etc). If you are someone who is navigating grief, trauma, or deep rooted blocks, therapy feels like a beautiful and gentle invitation to be in inquiry with. Therapy allows us to process and unwind in a very safe way. It can be a very revealing, healing process to open you up to understanding and having awareness. With coaching I’ve found that it’s a bit more of a directive process in both discovery and transformation. It’s focused more on the co-creative process than the past. It’s about forward movement and feeling empowered to build the life you want. Many coaches can also have tremendous training with topics that you would think come with therapy, such as grief, trauma, somatics, and more. The right coach can offer guidance with these topics in a really good way as well.
With both coaching and therapy, they can be done together or individually. Most importantly, knowing that this is a very personal journey, so doing your due diligence and meeting with different therapists practicing different modalities is highly suggested. After gathering information, take the step that feels right for YOU.
The Heartwork option
Having done relationship coaching for nearly two decades now, I’d even break down the difference between therapy, coaching, and Heartwork (which is what I call my coaching curriculum). In the Heartwork, I take my clients through a discovery process to reveal and compassionately acknowledge what happened to them and the patterns they have in different arenas of their lives, while simultaneously creating a path for “now what?”, awakening parts of themselves to co-create new intentions and patterns. I support my clients in aligning their mindset, which consists of their beliefs, behaviors, feelings, emotions, and energy, with their intentions.
With Heartwork, the focus is on Self, whether I’m working with a couple or an individual. The intention is to help us return to who we really are, our Authentic Self, and co-create the life and the Love we seek. This is a very general understanding of the Heartwork option, so if you’re moved, reach out for a 1:1!
An Invitation
Every person along the way is opening us up to our next step.
If you are curious about the Heartwork, relationship coaching or empowered matchmaking, or even different therapeutic modalities, I offer a pretty in-depth discovery process to support people on their path.
If any part of you feels inspired to take next steps with Finding Bliss, let’s begin with a Discovery Session. Together, we will explore the Heartwork and how Empowered Matchmaking and Relationship Coaching can support you on your journey.
