
Hiring a coach was the best investment I’ve ever made - freezedance
https://medium.com/@jenkliu/hiring-a-coach-was-the-best-investment-ive-ever-made-e8f9ac4a7166
======
Doxin
> Therapy examines your past and helps you diagnose your problems, she told
> me. Coaching focuses on the present and future — and helps you get from
> where you are to where you want to be.

And this is where I stopped taking it seriously. Modern therapy hardly
examines your past. A good therapist these days will quickly find the actual
problem you're having (which is generally not the problem you _think_ you're
having) and then steer you towards cognitive behavioural therapy(CBT) which is
_all_ about the present and the future.

This article smells like new age woo trying to present itself as better than
_actual therapy_ , with it meanwhile being strictly less effective.

Please, if you feel like therapy could help you (and basically anyone would be
helped by therapy) don't fall for this sort of nonsense, but find an actual
good therapist.

~~~
freezedance
Thanks for your reply. I admit I oversimplified the distinction in this
article for the sake of conciseness.

There is certainly a sizable overlap between coaching and certain types of
therapy. Perhaps a bigger distinction I failed to mention is the underlying
assumptions:

In therapy, therapist and client traditionally form an expert-subject
relationship. The assumption is that the client is somehow “damaged,” lower
functioning, or in crisis, and the the goal is to “fix” the problem.

In coaching, coach and client form a comutual or cocreative partnership. The
assumption is that the client is naturally creative, resourceful and whole,
and the goal is to empower the client to take action towards their goals.

(Based on perceptions across professionals in both [1]. I’m sure not all
therapists and coaches fall cleanly into these buckets.)

I don’t mean to claim that coaching is superior to therapy; each provides its
own value for different situations. Anyone experiencing depression or other
mental health issues should certainly consult a licensed therapist.

I do believe, however, that coaching is an underrated option for many seeking
support on personal growth. I recognize there are plenty of coaches that
practice woo out there, but there are also plenty of skilled, trained coaches
who make a big difference in people’s lives. And I aim to make it easier to
find those coaches through Uplevel
([https://uplevel.coach](https://uplevel.coach)).

I’d be curious if you have any evidence to show that coaching is strictly less
effective than therapy.

Thanks for calling out the reductive statement!

[1]
[https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/features/cpb-1061-4087-53-...](https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/features/cpb-1061-4087-53-4-229.pdf)

~~~
Doxin
First off let me apologize, I hadn't realised that the author of the piece was
the submitter, I'd have been more careful in my wording otherwise (Though it'd
probably grace me to be more careful even if the author isn't present)

I do think coaching has a place, in fact I reckon most people would be better
served with coaching than with therapy. I think the main stumbling point I
have with this article is that it seems to present coaching as better-than
while simultaneously misrepresenting therapy making it look worse.

 _If_ you have a brain problem that needs fixing then therapy is the right way
to tackle it. That's also why therapy is very much fix-oriented. It doesn't
fit everyones needs for sure.

I fully disagree that therapy is an expert-subject relationship. If your
therapist treats you as damaged or inferior you need to find a new therapist.
I've sure walked out on a _lot_ of therapists before finding one I could get
along with. I feel a lot of the same things go for coaches, not every coach is
a fit for every person either.

I'm sorry I called coaching "woo", that's a rather blunt way to put it.
Something about the article tickled my bullshit detector in a way that made it
seem disingenuous to me, but maybe that's just the way Uplevel gets plugged
towards the end, I'm not sure.

Honestly probably the only "real" difference between coaching and therapy is
the licensing. There's no reason a coach can't apply the same techniques as a
therapist, but the same goes the other way, There's no reason a therapist
can't apply coaching techniques either!

I'm now thoroughly convinced you're sincere however, and my previous comment
was simply the result of a miscommunication. I commend you for trying to make
the world a tiny bit better -- even though there's a profit motive involved ;)

I do think it might be a good idea for your company to have either a few
therapists on-staff or at least on speed-dial so to speak so if one of your
coaches runs into someone who needs problem-fixing instead of coaching you've
got somewhere to send them. It'd be rather awful if e.g. heavily depressed
people sign up and either don't get the care they need or no care at all.

Anyways I don't really have a good conclusion to this ramble, I wish you the
best of luck in your endeavours.

~~~
freezedance
A few takeaways here:

\- The line between coaching and therapy can be blurry, especially as many
coaches practice therapy techniques and vice versa.

\- It’s hard to find both a good therapist and a good coach.

\- There is no official license for coaching, which makes it even harder to
find a good coach.

I appreciate the suggestion re: providing a quick referral to a therapist if
that’s the solution a user requires. Will definitely keep in mind as this
expands.

Thank you for the thoughtful, candid feedback and support!

