What's the difference between Coaching and Therapy?
Do I Need a Coach or a Therapist?
Understanding the Difference with Compassion and Clarity
When life feels uncertain, heavy, or stuck, it’s normal to start seeking support. But then comes the big question:
Do I need a coach… or a therapist?
The short answer: it depends on what kind of support you need right now.
This guide will walk you gently through the differences, so you can choose with confidence and care.
🌿 What Is Coaching?
Coaching is a forward-focused, partnership-based process that supports you in making meaningful changes in your life. It’s built on the belief that you already have inner wisdom — and that a coach’s role is to help you unlock it.
A coach helps you:
Clarify your values and goals
Explore what’s holding you back (without going into trauma)
Take action toward the life you want
Stay accountable and supported
Coaching works beautifully when you feel stable but unsure, stuck, or ready to step into something new — whether that’s a career change, personal growth, or rebuilding confidence after life’s curveballs.
🧠 What Is Therapy?
Therapy is a healing process, often focused on resolving past pain, trauma, or patterns that are affecting your present wellbeing. Therapists are trained mental health professionals who help you explore:
Emotional wounds from your past
Anxiety, depression, or grief
Patterns of thought or behaviour that limit your emotional health
Therapy helps you understand, process, and heal. It's vital when you’re struggling to cope day-to-day, or when you’re aware that your past still holds power over your present.
🔍 Coaching vs Therapy: How to Know Which You Need
💡 Where the Lines Sometimes Blur
Coaches often explore beliefs, patterns, and fears — but they do not diagnose, treat, or process trauma. Instead, coaching helps you notice how past experiences may have shaped your thinking, and choose new ways forward.
💬 If those past experiences are still raw or unresolved, therapy is a safer and more ethical place to begin.
Some clients move from therapy to coaching once they’ve stabilised emotionally. Others do both in tandem — one for healing, one for forward movement.
You coach will also advise you of their scope of practice, on your discovery call. Some coaches are also qualified therapists.
🌱 A Note on Ethical Coaching
A responsible coach knows when to refer. If you’re showing signs of emotional distress, trauma responses, or unresolved mental health concerns, a good coach will gently suggest you speak with a therapist first.
This isn’t rejection — it’s respect.
You deserve the right support at the right time.
🧘♀️ In Summary
Choosing between a coach and a therapist isn’t about choosing the “better” support — it’s about choosing what you need right now.
Therapy helps you heal.
Coaching helps you grow.
Both can be life-changing — in different ways, at different times.
If you're ready to move forward but aren't sure how, a coach can help you explore what’s possible.
If you’re feeling emotionally overwhelmed, a therapist can help you feel safe again.
Both honour your courage.
Both are acts of self-care.
Both begin with the choice to stop doing it all alone.
