With social media becoming an integral part of daily life, it seems as if a lot of people are offering expert coaching services for a myriad of different aspects of life these days. But what does a coach do? And when do we know we need their services, help, and support, as opposed to those of a counsellor? What are the differences between the two?
There are many similarities between a coach and a counsellor, which is why there is often so much confusion between the two. For example, both counsellors and coaches can specialise in a particular niche or area to focus on, both are designed to help people re-evaluate and change their lives in some way, and both often operate on a freelance or independent basis.
In Singapore, neither counsellors nor coaches are legally required to be licensed to practice, although there is a body that counsellors or therapists can register with, which adds validity to their services. This lack of requirement for registration is likely because neither counsellor nor coach is a protected term. Protected professions that require licensing to use specific titles include roles such as doctors, dentists, and psychiatrists. However, just because counsellors or coaches aren’t licensed, this does not mean that their services are not needed or that what both can offer is not beneficial to their clients. Many of the differences between counsellors and coaches are what make them so effective for their clients and niches.
Looking at the differences between coaching and counselling is helpful to decide which one suits your needs. Counsellors are trained to deal with different mental health needs, and often have specific training to support people struggling within a specific niche. They are typically degree-trained or with required theoretical and practical training. Coaches do not necessarily have any psychology or mental health training per se – rather, their knowledge and expertise often come from their lived experience. Coaches help you to define goals and take positive action to achieve them based on your present circumstances and your aims for the future. While counsellors can also help you plan for the future, they would look at how your present has been affected by your past, helping you recognise and manage present issues so that you can make future goals into realities.
Many people seek help from a counsellor or a coach at different stages in their lives. Some will need the support of a counsellor at one point and a coach at another point. Both have similarities in the way that they work and how they can help you. However, coaches approach of helping you is mainly through using their own experiences and what they have learned from coaching school and other external courses; while a counsellor would use a more technical perspective, using their study and practice to inform their choices.
Ultimately, coaches and counsellors provide different methods to help you improve your life – which one should you choose is down to whom you think is the better fit for your current need.