Therapist VS Life Coach: Which is the right choice for your career or life?

Feb 27

Hey friends!

Like a lot of you, when I first started on my journey of healing and self-development, I had no idea what the difference was between a therapist and a life coach. I had some idea that therapists were people you go to talk about your past and seek advice on handling your emotions. But what the heck was a life coach? In fact, something about the very term “life coach” felt off to me—how can anyone tell you how to live your life?

But I knew I needed help. The year was 2018, and I had been experiencing chronic digestive issues, daily migraines, and a general “can’t-give-a-sh*t” attitude about most things in my life. Sure, I had a beautiful wife and a career I believed in, but I was just going through the motions. At the time, we didn’t use this word as often, but looking back I was in full-on burn-out mode.

So I decided to get some help. I had seen a therapist and a career coach here and there throughout my life, and while I liked having a space to vent, I felt like I needed more than that. I needed someone who could not only hold space and listen but someone who could also give me some pointers on what I could be doing differently. Someone who could help me build a plan to move out of my stuck state, and someone who could hold me accountable.

It was then that I found my first coach, Lauren. She had a welcoming presence and instantly made me feel seen. Together, we hatched a plan for me to actually build better boundaries, make tangible commitments to change, and learn how to use mindset and body-based practices to help move the needle on my goals. Week after week, she would assure me I was on the right track, holding me gently as I moved through all the ups and downs of growth.

It’s thanks to her that I took my first steps towards building a life full of alignment, joy, and abundance. And it’s thanks to this type of growth that I’ve created covn collective. So that we can let more and more women in on the simple but liberating moves towards the life they really want to live.

For those of you who are making a decision between therapist or life coach (or even life coaching courses), here’s some quick differences to help you make the right choice:

When to see a therapist

You are experiencing mental health symptoms such as anxiety, depression, trauma, or disordered eating.
You want to heal from past trauma
You want help processing or dealing with emotions or want to improve interpersonal relationships
You just want someone to listen
You are not looking to make specific goal-oriented changes in your life

When to see a life coach

You want to get ‘unstuck’ and make progress on specific goals
You want to make big moves in your career, like a big promotion or moving to another job
You feel like things keep happening by themselves and you have no control over your life, and that’s when you want to challenge yourself to come out of your comfort zone.
You want to put an end to damaging habits and replace them with thriving alternatives.
You look forward to learning how to stop self-criticizing and thereby live your best life.
You wish for a life that has a deeper purpose and meaning to it but don’t know where to begin
You feel unsure about the next phase in your life (i.e. battling with career decisions, and big life choices) and would want advice on what would best suit you.
You want help with accountability in both your personal or professional life.

If you want to learn more about one-on-one coaching, group workshops, or life coaching courses, set up a free chat with one of our coaches to learn more about Covn and what we do. Just pop over to our contact page and book your free chat now!

Ghaz