Coaching can help people who want to talk with me about improving their lives, without really needing therapy. I like to use the example of homework to point out the difference between therapy and coaching. If I give a homework assignment to a therapy client and the client doesn’t do it, I’ll ask what was wrong with the assignment, whether it was too difficult in some way. If I give a homework assignment to a coaching client, and the client doesn’t do it, I’ll ask if the client is serious about achieving her goal. Some examples of personal and career coaching are:
- Executives, managers, supervisors, teachers and others seeking to improve their effectiveness in working with people in their current careers or organizations
- People thinking about changing careers
- Parents who want to improve how they parent their children
- Couples who want to improve their skills in communicating, solving problems, and enjoying life together
- People concerned with issues of value, meaning or spirituality in their lives
- Parents and adolescent or adult children where differences in value priorities lead to disagreements or conflicts
- People who just want to have a conversation with a psychological counselor about whatever issues might be on their minds.
Of course, there is no insurance coverage for coaching, because there is no disorder and no treatment in coaching.