What is a life coach?
Life coaches help their clients identify a specific life or career goal, define the steps needed to achieve this goal and create a plan of action. Life coaches will also help clients identify strengths, weaknesses and obstacles that will impact their plan of action.
What does a life coach do?
Most importantly, professional life coaching involves relationship building and trust. Life coaches must be able to forge a creative partnership with their clients to:
Promote accountability and positive change
Identify and create a plan for what the client wants
Modify and build strategies to achieve a client’s goals
Encourage self-discovery, self-awareness and growth
What is the difference between a life coach and a therapist?
While therapists analyze a client’s past to help them understand their current behavior, life coaches identify obstacles that stop a client from achieving their goals and present strategies for getting past these obstacles.
What is the difference between coaching and counseling?
Like the difference between a life coach and a therapist, coaching is different than counseling because it focuses on goal setting, not mental health. Ultimately, both practices aim to help the client on a deeply personal level but take different approaches in doing so.
Why should life coaches get certified?
Training and certification help you stand out to clients. Credentialing organizations like the International Association of Professional Recovery Coaches (IAPRC) and International Coach Federation (ICF) follow a standard of ethics that clients expect.