Life Coaching Versus Counselling
What are the differences?
• Counselling is looking to the past to understand why you are the way you are.
• Life Coaching is finding solutions to problems in the now.
Does one work more effectively than the other?
It depends on the person, and both have their benefits. Counselling is more focused on your thoughts and why you feel the way you do.
Let me give you an analogue to explain
For example, you catch the flu. You don’t try and work out where you caught the flu, who gave it to you, was it transmitted via air or did you catch it by touching something. No, you take action and treat the symptoms – this is the solution to The same is true in Life Coaching you do not need to understand why you feel the way you do – you take action.
Life Coaching helps you find the solutions to move forward, in whatever aspect of your life that needs working on.
I am not saying that Counselling is not as worthwhile as different things work for different people. If you have had counselling and it has not helped you move forward then give coaching a try and see if this is more suitable for you.
Belief Cycle
You behave in a certain way, during a situation because of XYZ belief. This then affects your thoughts, which produces feelings and its this that results in the actions/reactions. This cycle then reinforces the beliefs that you hold about yourself and the way the world works.
Working with a Life Coach, you find solutions to your problems and this changes the feelings which result in new/different actions.
Let me explain more:
Initially, you still have the belief which leads to the thoughts, but through working with a Life Coach you interrupt the circle. Developing solutions, strategies and tools you change your feelings which then results in a new action/reaction. This builds your confidence because this time you did something different. Through repetition, you change your belief about what is possible for you and how you see the world.
I often find working with clients not only changes what’s possible in one part of their life. It has a snowball effect and then their relationships improve or they get the confidence to apply for a new career. The strategies that you develop work across multiple areas and have benefit holistically.
