Coaching to Therapy Comparison

Comparison Chart

Conventional Therapy v. Personal Coaching

Adapted from an uncategorized chart of associations at coachville.com

Therapy	Coaching
The Goal
dysfunctional to functional	functional to extraordinary
progress	performance
stabilize	balance
heal past	create future
integration	manifestation
The Experience
mostly monologue	mostly dialogue
tends toward process	tends toward results
usually a measured pace	often a rapid pace
feelings oriented	action oriented
The Relationship
nurturing, supportive	catalyzing, challenging
traditional relationship	collaborative, equal partnership
professional 'arms length'	close, collaborative
How does it feel?
hurts	motivates
fear	excitement
hope	inspiration
The Focus
issue resolution	life design
looks backward	focuses forward
weaknesses	strengths
problems	solutions
was then	is now
why me?/why this?	what's next?/what now?
The Approach
medical model	performance model
pathology	experimentation/discovery
diagnosis	self assessment
The Outlook
prognosis for recovery	chance of success

Important Notice

The associations in the comparison chart above were created with the help of dozens of therapists on a CoachVille R&D Team who are also experienced coaches. And, while not everyone will agree with every single word pair, it's our view that this chart does help to clarify the differences between coaching and therapy. That said, the fact is that many of the differences between modern therapy and personal coaching aren't as big as we might like them to appear. Both professionals can be working with fully functioning adults who are working through a difficult situation. Both disciplines focus on helping people make changes and accomplish goals that really matter to them. They are different ways of working; each with its own special value.

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