Life Coach vs. Therapist: What you need to know

With specific mental health concerns there is a clear need for psychotherapy with the help of a licensed mental health professional. There are times when a coach might be more beneficial but how do you decide what kind of help is best and under what circumstances? In today’s episode, Leslie and Leslyn set out to answer some of the questions surrounding the mental health space. Leslie and Leslyn discuss the education requirements for therapist and coaches, some of the professional development that can occur, and the licenses needed. They also facilitate in deciding what professional is best for your needs and just how to find them!

In this episode, we discuss…

Show Intro [0:01]

Introductions—Therapy vs Coaching [0:12]

Start of the Podcast [0:48]

The Difference Between Therapist and Coaches [1:58]

Defining the Idea of Therapy [5:14]

What Are the Different Kinds of Therapist? [6:47]

Licensed vs Not Licensed and Discussion of Private Practice [11:24]

The Problem in Health Care [14:47]

What to Look for in a Coach [16:00]

How to Choose the Right Therapist or Coach [19:51]

Specialties in Coaching and How They Benefit You [25:39]

Closing Thoughts [31:42]

Try This at Home [33:13]

Outro [33:40]

Episode Notes:

In recent TikTok Lives, Leslyn consistently gets the questions ‘how do we find a good therapist’ and ‘can I work with you’. While it is certainly important to find a good therapist, there is a difference between the needs and what professional you should be searching for. Therapist help clients work through their specific issues and often clients go in knowing some of the areas that need to be worked on. While life coaches usually help their clients stay on track with their goals and can be beneficial for continual growth.

To determine what professional would be most beneficial, it’s important to understand that there are all kinds of different therapists. Therapy is often called psychotherapy, counseling, or just therapy. Counseling is conducted by someone who is a highly trained and skilled healthcare professional. This healthcare professional receives training in diagnoses, problematic beliefs, behaviors, relationships, feelings, and sometimes even physiological responses. Many of these topics can be paused or triggered by past issues and self-destructive habits making therapy the place to dig under your current emotional spectrum to discover why the problems are there and how to repair them.

All types of psychological counseling will be regulated by the state in which you live with most states giving licensure to healthcare professionals. Most often you need at least a master’s degree in a counseling related field this can be degrees such as mental health counseling, social work, marriage and family therapy, or psychology. During and after receiving a graduate degree, a specific number of clinical hours are needed depending on your state this could be anywhere from 2000 to 4000 clinical hours. If a professional has a PhD level often they will have a research and academic focus while PSYD, or doctorate in psychology, will be more clinically oriented. Other types of therapists can be LCSWs, LCPCs, or LPCs. A LCSW is a licensed clinical social worker, LCPC is a licensed clinical professional counselor, and an LPC is a licensed professional counselor. It’s important to really understand that a therapist, psychotherapist, or a mental health counselor who hold a license are highly trained medical professionals with clinical experience.

When looking for a therapist, you may come across licensed and non-licensed counselors. A licensed counselor must be stated. If not licensed, anyone can take the title of counselor without even having the education required for licensure. Leslyn urges that if you are seeking counseling/psychotherapy to check out your state board licenses and confirm that the person you are speaking to is licensed in your state.

When it comes to life coaches there is not a requirement to begin working as a life coach but Leslie and Leslyn offer a few tips on how to find a good coach. There are life coach programs that award certifications and Leslie think that a good coach would take the steps to go through some program or at least be seriously interested in educating themselves in coaching. Leslyn shares that if you can afford it, seeing someone who is a therapist and a life coach can be beneficial. All therapists can be life coaches as they are trained in the topics but not all life coaches can be therapists. A good life coach will recommend their clients to a specialist if a serious mental health issue is uncovered to consider psychotherapy options.

When choosing the right therapist or coach, choose someone based on referrals or after researching and seeing their presence on the Internet. If your coach or therapist, does not have a presence online, reach out and ask for a free consultation. In this consultation you will want to be face-to-face (in-person, or virtually) as you need to establish a connection. Leslie brings a tip when starting therapy that you have to be prepared for some hard truths as sometimes what is most helpful is not the thing that you want to hear.

This week’s Try This at Home is to make a mental note that if you are looking to uncover and recover seek a therapist but if you are looking to discover seek a life coach!

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Links to Look At:

Psychologist License Lookup State by State

[https://www.psychologytoday.com]

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