Coaching vs Therapy

Coaches are not therapists, and coaching is not meant to replace therapy.  Therapists help heal the past and treat existing mental health conditions, whereas coaches help with goal achievement and building your future self.  Therapy and counseling are clinical relationships and can only be delivered by a licensed professional. Coaching services can often be a next step after successfully completing therapy.  

There is also a difference between coaching and mentoring.  Mentoring is often based on an informal relationship structure in which the mentor offers advice based on their knowledge and experience.  A coaching relationship is a partnership that is more formally structured.  This partnership utilizes a co-creative process to help the client develop and achieve their goals, with the coach also serving as an accountability partner.  One of the benefits of using a coach in goal development is that the achievement of the goal is owned by the client because they built the road map to success as part of the creative process.