what's the difference between coaching and therapy?

the most common question i get as a coach is: “what’s the difference between coaching and therapy…or mentoring…or consulting?”

which is not surprising. there are a lot of words that sound like they mean roughly the same thing. here’s a table that explains some of the differences and why you might choose one over another:

since my goal with this table is to highlight differences, it’s not meant to be comprehensive or mutually exclusive — just because certain techniques are listed in one area, for example, doesn’t mean they’re the only techniques used in that area, or that other disciplines don’t use the same ones.

the order of the columns is also intentional and represents how ‘universal’ (towards the left) versus domain specific (towards the right) the methods in each discipline tend to be. but there are no hard boundaries. some people seek out coaches with a background in the specific industry they’re working in, for example. 

finally, if you’re in the process of looking for your own coach, here are some good questions to ask in your initial chats:

• how do you think about success for your clients?

• what kinds of people do you especially enjoy working with?

• what kinds of people do you find it harder to work with?

• what influences do you bring to your coaching?

• what’s your theory of change? how do you think change happens?