Coaching Is Not Therapy: Why That’s Exactly Why Therapists Bring a Unique Advantage

Therapy

• is designed to support people in addressing and resolving psychological difficulties and disorders, healing past wounds, and regaining or strengthening functioning in everyday life. It often involves diagnosis, clinical assessment, and evidence-based interventions.

Coaching

• is future-focused. It supports clients who are already functioning in everyday life to expand, grow, and create intentional change in their personal or professional lives. It is not about treatment or symptom reduction. It is about clarifying goals, building strategies, and moving into action with accountability and momentum.

Both are powerful. Both are necessary. And both hold their own ethical frameworks and responsibilities.

Here’s where it gets interesting. Therapists don’t become coaches simply because of their training. It’s the skills that you already use every day that give you a head start.

Think about it:

• You know how to listen deeply, not just to what is being said but to what lies beneath what is being said.

• You’re comfortable with complexity and being non-judgmental, holding space for the nuances of all types of human experiences.

• You’re skilled in asking powerful questions that shift perspective and invite reflection.

• You’ve seen people transform, and you know how to support them through their discomfort and resistance.

These qualities don’t make coaching “the same” as therapy. But they mean you already carry some of the foundation skills that many coaches spend years trying to learn and build.

When I worked with therapists considering the shift into coaching, I noticed something. Many were worried they would “lose” their identity as a therapist or feel as though they were abandoning clinical work. But in reality, the opposite often happens.

For example, one therapist I worked with wanted to create a coaching program for professionals on burnout prevention. She wasn’t diagnosing, treating, or applying therapy models. Instead, she was educating and coaching clients in ways to build resilience and sustain growth in their own careers. Her coaching clients learned how to draw on their own strengths and resources to create a new and exciting future for themselves.

Her clinical background gave her the confidence and depth, while the coaching approach allowed her to support people (who did not require psychological intervention) in a fresh, powerful, and expansive way.

Coaching is not therapy, and that’s precisely why it can feel so refreshing.

It offers therapists the opportunity to:

• Work with people who are ready to grow, not just heal.

• Channel your expertise into new formats like group programs, courses, or retreats.

• Explore your own voice as a thought leader.

• Build a business model that supports flexibility and sustainability.

It’s not about leaving therapy behind. It’s about expanding your professional identity and creating new ways to serve.

If you’ve ever felt the pull toward coaching, it might be because you’re ready for a different kind of impact. Not because therapy isn’t meaningful, but because you’re curious about what else is possible.

And the truth is, you don’t have to start from scratch. You already have some of the foundational skills. What you may need now is a clear framework, a plan, and some support in building a coaching pathway that aligns with your values.