Life Coaching differs from therapy in two distinct ways.
Life coaching is for the person who is ready to move forward in life. This means that if you have serious trauma or grief that you are dealing with - traditional life coaching may not be for you. When you have trauma, grief, depression or an active mental health condition where you need to revisit your past to make peace, this is work you should be doing with a therapist. Therapy is an excellent modality to help you process past trauma and emotions. Sometimes this is the necessary step you have to take in order to begin the healing process. But many people also see a coach while seeing a therapist.
The primary way life coaching differs from therapy is that life coaching guides people through a beginning and an endpoint, or a result. Life coaching begins with the end in mind. Frequently we create a set of goals in the first session. We talk about your vision and discuss a process to help you achieve them. Coaching is about creating the future you want, rather than processing the past. I work with clients who have a goal or a result that they are trying to create, or something they want more of such as confidence, courage, or having better boundaries. We work on a tangible or intangible outcome that's based on your positive motivation i.e, something you want, instead of something you don't want.
To summarize, if you're looking to create a result in your life, hire a life coach. There is no right or wrong way to go about your own healing. Both professions will help you create greater awareness of who you are, and awareness is the key to creating what you want in life. Curious what it's like to work with a life coach? Schedule a free call here and get an hour of coaching to see if it's the right modality for you.