Coaching is often confused with therapy or counseling and therefore it is important to note that coaching is not a form of therapy or counseling. A coach does not offer advice, give medications or provide any form of psychotherapy to clients. Coaches focus on where a person is currently at in their life, and where they would like to be for their ideal life. Counseling or therapy predominantly focuses on overcoming emotional issues from an individual’s past. Coaching is a unique profession and there are considerable differences between the two occupations.

Coaching has also been compared to consulting and mentoring, however it also differs from these two occupations. A consultant is a specialist in a specific area; whereas a coach does not need to be a specialist because the client is the one who has the knowledge and a coach assists them in examining a situation and supports the client through a plan of action to solve the problem. Mentoring also involves being an expert in a certain field. A mentor communicates their expertise to a client which is based on the mentor’s experiences. A coach encourages a client to rely on their own experiences in life and chart their own course.

“The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible”
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