Life Coaching vs. Counseling: Differences and Similarities

Introduction to Life Coaching and Counseling

Life coaching can be defined as a professional discipline that aims at helping an individual achieve their set goals in life. Life coaches take responsibility for helping their clients focus on the bigger picture so that they can make the initial steps toward realizing their potential. Cole (2000) describes coaching as an action-focused collaboration that revolves around a person's current standing and how his or her goals can be attained (p. 95). Furthermore, the author asserts that nothing is better than having one's very own "Bela Karolyi" for helping one get past life's "uneven bars" and "balance beams" (p. 95). This ongoing collaboration, known as coaching, aids people in achieving satisfying outcomes in life — it enriches clients' learning, improves their quality of life (QOL), and helps them perform better (Cole, 2000). In Grant's (2003) opinion, goal-centered coaching is a solution-focused, methodical, and cooperative process that endeavors to boost performance, wellbeing, and self-directed learning (p. 752).

Prior to the recognition and acceptance of the life coaching field, managers typically attended "charm schools" for behavioral counseling and acquiring human relations skills, so that they would be well prepared for their corporate roles (Hall et al., 1999). Myles Mace is credited with first applying the tool of "coaching" for developing managerial skills in 1958 (Eggers & Clark, 2000). During the 1970s, National Training Laboratories were opened to certain executives to offer rigorous offsite coaching. By the first half of the following decade, GE and other corporations began offering personal efficiency training to their executives. The latter half of the decade witnessed the introduction of the 360-degree feedback concept; however, follow-up assistance was hard to come by (Hall et al., 1999).

According to Cowell and Judge (1997), Dick Borough coined the phrase "executive coaching" in 1985 when explaining the techniques he employed for leadership development. Three years later, Forbes published its "Sigmund Freud Meets Henry Ford" article (Machan, 1988). In a number of ways, the practice of coaching originates from managerial development courses and appears to have been implemented simultaneously on the western and eastern coasts of the United States. Widespread use of management coaching by HR professionals began around the turn of the last decade of the twentieth century (Judge & Cowell, 1997).

The profession mainly focuses on engaging the client in an intensive, initiative-oriented process to identify their strengths and weaknesses in a given area of life. Customarily, life coaches support their clients in the pursuit of the highest achievable success, enabling them to move toward happiness and satisfaction. Life coaches also motivate clients' dreams and visions by offering emotional, psychological, and directional support.

The practice of life coaching was established in the late 1940s. However, according to Hudson (1999), the life coaching approach was only recognized as an autonomous discipline in the late 1980s. This was mainly due to the rapid change in the structure and functionality of organizations around the world. There was an insatiable need for individuals to be trained in political leadership, succession planning, and other personal goal-oriented areas. World changes made it difficult to analyze and predict the fate of individuals, because aims and goals became more susceptible and easily swayed by societal variations (Rao, 2010). Life coaching evolved to fill the gap that would facilitate a feeling of continuity following drastic social transitions. It is important to note that both disciplines adhere to strict confidentiality as an essential aspect needed to achieve their respective goals harmoniously.

Life coaches articulate strategies and mechanisms best suited to facilitating the achievement of life goals without negating the skills balance. To become an effective life coach, one must demonstrate a high ability in strategizing, accountability, and motivational skills. This is the only way of ensuring that the client manages to achieve their life goals in the most effective and efficient way under their coach's guidance. Unlike counselors and consultants, life coaches move alongside the client throughout their life journey — from the beginning until the set goals are achieved.

According to Bangert-Drowns, Kulik, and Kulik (1983), counseling is a contextual form of therapy in which individuals are given room to discuss their psychological and mental health problems in search of life solutions, while maintaining secrecy and confidentiality. Counseling is considered a psychological science that addresses issues and disturbances affecting the individual mind and other psychological processes. The science and art of counseling involves the engagement of at least two individuals in a cooperative relationship, wherein one (the counselor) is an educated, competent, and experienced individual — typically certified and licensed as a helper — while the other (the client) seeks assistance. The relationship is aimed at resolving client problems or concerns arising from their endeavor to manage life in a progressively more complex environment (Maples, 1996, p. 47). The American Counseling Association (ACA) offers a more concise definition, stating that counseling is a fairly short-duration, theory-centered, interpersonal process of aiding individuals who are essentially psychologically healthy in resolving their situational and developmental issues (ACA, 2007).

Counseling represents an ethical and competent application of relationships for facilitating emotional development and acceptance, self-knowledge, and optimum improvement of individual resources. The general goal is to offer a chance to lead a more resourceful and satisfying life. Counselor-client relationships vary according to need; however, they might deal with developmental problems, solving specific issues, decision-making, crisis management, internal conflict, personal insight enhancement, and relationship skill improvement (Gladding, 2004).

The task of counseling addresses wellness, professional development, personal development, and pathological issues. That is, a counselor addresses relationship-related areas (Casey, 1996), including inter- and intra-personal problems associated with adjusting and finding meaning in familial, educational, professional, and other contexts. Counseling is carried out with individuals regarded as functioning adequately but experiencing some serious issues. Counselors cater to the requirements of a broad array of individuals whose situational or developmental problems need to be dealt with through remediation or adjustment. Normally, these issues get resolved through short-term interventions. However, in some cases, treatment may be prolonged to address disorders covered under the American Psychiatric Association's (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). Counseling is a theory-based activity in which experts apply numerous theoretical techniques, including cognitive, behavioral, systemic, and affective techniques. These theoretical models are applicable to individuals, families, and large groups. The process of counseling can be intervening or developmental, and it entails both change and choice. Counseling may be termed the "run-through" for action in certain instances (Casey, 1996, p. 176).

In the United States, counseling emerged as a profession somewhere between the latter half of the 1890s and the start of the twentieth century. Throughout the early part of that century, vocational guidance represented the chief emphasis of counselors, with psychometrics forming part of its initial groundwork. During the 1930s, the counseling profession started expanding beyond vocation-related issues, and the notion of guidance through education emerged (Gladding, 2004). Only in 1942, with Carl Rogers' work Counseling and Psychotherapy, did the notion of guidance — offering recommendations, training, or a focus — start disappearing from counseling literature. The mid-twentieth century saw the reinforcement of the counseling profession through events such as the founding of the American Personnel and Guidance Association, the founding of the Counseling Psychology branch of the APA, the formulation of novel counseling and guidance theories, and the enactment of the 1958 National Defense Education Act (Gladding, 2004). Counseling spread into settings outside academia during the 1970s, accompanied by the introduction of programs for cultivating helping skills and professional organizations, as well as counseling licensure. The following decade witnessed the emergence of standardized counselor training certification, transforming counseling into an independent, recognized profession with diversified counselor specialties and a major emphasis on development and growth (Gladding, 2004).

During the counseling process, clients are assisted in identifying their problems and specifying solutions to overcome their mental challenges. Counselors are expected to specialize in a given approach — such as Applied Behavioral treatment. More importantly, the psychological problem affecting the client usually determines the type of counseling therapy most relevant. Counselors explore the thoughts and emotions of human beings to produce therapeutic changes relevant to individual life. They encourage clients to speak openly about their problems in order to identify causes, effects, and possible solutions. In most cases, counselors advise individuals on how to cope with a life issue or help facilitate reconciliation between the client and the challenges they face. The process of counseling is conducted through face-to-face communication, telephone counseling, or online counseling, and the approach depends on factors such as age, gender, and the counselor's techniques.

Literature Review

Hudson (1999) explains that coaching is an art of helping and guiding an individual toward a fulfilling future. Some believe that learning begins and ends with childhood, and that adult life is more about working than learning. But in modern professions, there is a great deal of reinvention, requiring continuous learning. This could take the form of obtaining new jobs or switching career paths. Continuous learning and personal renewal are essential in adjusting to change, and each person is responsible for devising their own curriculum. These challenges face individuals, teams, and organizations alike.

This is where the life coach comes in. The coach is a teacher, and whether the client is an individual or an organization, the relationship is usually deeper than that. The coach's function is to relate particular goals to a whole plan created in close consideration of the client's core values. The coach helps the client see more options and resources that might be available, while guiding them through a learning process of managing change rather than fearing it.

Hudson (1999) further notes that during the 1980s, many organizations adopted prevailing management philosophies that encouraged eliminating middle managers so that employees could manage their own results with minimal mentoring. However, trends shifted again, and organizations began emphasizing working teams. This created a need for a coach — especially when a team encountered obstacles. To serve as a coach for an organization, specific skills of leadership, reliability, and maturity are essential for training teams effectively and guiding organizations through transitions. An organizational coach will deal heavily with collaboration, long-term planning, and organizing, and will be expected to nurture the organization's culture.

Caspi (2005) similarly focuses on the growing popularity of life coaching and the challenges that come with it. He argues that it is important to identify two distinct usages of the term "coaching": as a method and as a movement. The second usage — as a movement — tends to cast coaching as a practice with its own unique scope, already on a path to becoming a recognized profession or discipline. This trajectory is being accelerated by a gradually growing body of research and by organizations offering training and credentials to those who wish to practice life coaching, making it increasingly accessible for individuals to acquire the necessary knowledge and begin offering coaching services.

Caspi (2005) adds that coaching is a goal-oriented approach, unlike most traditional psychological treatments that focus on alleviating problems at hand. Nonetheless, both methods aim at changing behaviors, feelings, and attitudes for the betterment of clients' lives. The difficulty of distinguishing the two practices — especially among clients — is of concern to the profession, since the two do not technically offer the same service. This ambiguity can result in individuals offering services they are not qualified to provide, or using coaching to circumvent licensure requirements.

Caspi (2005) insists that social workers are well qualified to do coaching, and there is no need for individuals with little or no qualification providing essential psychological services. Coaching previously emphasized helping corporate employees improve productivity. However, the growing popularity of life coaching has extended its application to personal and life domains of psychology. The methods used by life coaches in the business domain are increasingly being applied in personal life contexts — methods that, in many cases, are not well suited to those situations. Some life coaches are knowingly or unknowingly taking over roles otherwise meant for social workers, offering services they may not be qualified to provide. The paper emphasizes the need for dialogue on the growing popularity of life coaching in terms of its licensing, ethics, and how to distinguish social workers from life coaches.

It is widely acknowledged that the life coaching approach is a behavioral modification and inspirational technique that facilitates the establishment and attainment of better goals, thereby improving individuals' functioning and wellbeing (Grant & O'Hara, 2006; Newnham-Kanas et al., 2010). This innovative field has distinguished itself from the conventional therapeutic sphere — life coaches do not adopt an expert's role; rather, they serve as "thought partners" (Newnham-Kanas, Irwin, & Morrow, 2011). Furthermore, they do not offer advice but believe clients can independently generate effective solutions (ICF, 2015). These professionals do not regard clients as needing "fixing." Their emphasis is on results for the future and not on problems of the past (ICF, 2015). According to practitioners, the life coaching technique is strong and effective, and this argument has been corroborated by a growing body of scientific evidence (Maples, 1996).

Counseling, psychology, and other conventional helping professions are closely regulated and standardized (Williams & Davis, 2007). The life coaching field, however, does not have to follow any strict regulations or training conditions, and this is considered a major future problem for the sector (ICF, 2012). A second challenge is the confusion clients experience regarding the advantages of coaching and how it differs from consulting, mentoring, and other practices (ICF, 2012). How life coaching is defined has also been a well-debated topic (Williams & Davis, 2007). There are numerous perspectives, each offering diverse coaching contexts. For instance, Grant (2003, p. 254) gives a broad definition for the term, claiming that life coaching represents a methodical, solution-focused, cooperative, and result-oriented process wherein a coach helps enhance non-clinical clients' life experiences and facilitate their professional and personal goal achievement.

There are numerous empirical research works that support the life coaching profession's validity (Newnham-Kanas, Gorczynski, Irwin, & Morrow, 2009; Newnham-Kanas et al., 2011). However, methodological rigor is absent in most of these research works. Several empirical analyses do not include any operational description of the method of coaching employed, making it difficult to determine exactly what the authors are referring to when they use the word "coaching" (Newnham-Kanas et al., 2009). There are various descriptions and definitions of "life coaching," and these definitions likely offer diverse contexts for analysis, suggesting diverse life coaching processes and results (Grant, 2003; Williams & Davis, 2007). Through a cohesive description of the term, researchers can assess modifications in wellness, behavior, and life that may be attributed solely to the activity of life coaching. A cohesive or impartial definition will likely facilitate the monitoring and tracing of behavior modifications linked directly to coaching, enable result replication in similar contexts, and enable comparison of results across multiple studies.

Coaching concepts include attention to clients' skill development. In Garmston and Costa's (2002) opinion, coaching endeavors to improve clients' self-directedness — that is, their capacity for self-management, monitoring, and adaptation. They maintain that a coach adopts particular techniques for improving a client's decision-making ability, intellectual functions, and insights (p. 21). In Carter's (2001) work, coaching has been described as job-related training for professional and senior leaders (p. 15). A large number of authors integrate the aspects of development and performance in their definition of coaching. Gray (2005) writes that a coached client is an individual who wishes to attain a more superior performance level, improved learning, or satisfaction, whereas Downey (2003) describes coaching as an art of assisting another individual in learning, developing, and performing (p. 15). Hall and Linder-Pelz (2008) describe coaching as an activity dealing with goal actualization and facilitating an individual's development, performance, experience, and learning (p. 43).

Despite the difficulty of classifying coaching techniques owing to their complex nature, Ives (2008) proposes three key groupings on which coaching strategies can be classified: (1) non-directive or directive, (2) goal-driven or personal-developmental, and (3) performance-oriented or therapeutic. Although the above three groups are conceptually distinct, they are closely linked in practice as well as in theory. Goal-centered coaching strategies are normally performance-oriented, nondirective, and solution-centered. No coaching technique stereotypically corresponds to the precise classifications outlined, nor is any technique consistently conformant to this grouping scheme. However, from an "ideal types" perspective, some techniques can be perceived as closer to a particular group than to others. For instance, every coaching theory would consider a wholly directive stance incompatible with the coaching process. Likewise, every method would be regarded as solution-centered when compared to psychoanalysis. But upon comparison, these coaching techniques display significant differences.

Kiel and colleagues (1996) warn of a widespread belief that those who reach senior management or other leadership positions need not concern themselves with personal development any longer. This erroneous idea can hamper leadership development. While managerial coaching is an agenda-focused approach whose main emphasis is on professional objectives (Saporito, 1996), some researchers (Witherspoon & White, 1996; Laske, 1999; Kilburg, 2000) have supported ontological developmental frameworks owing to the relationship between professional and personal development. Diedrich (1996) asserted that fulfilling the personal developmental requirements of a client during coaching is essential. Independent of a manager's agenda, Belf (1996) supported life coaching that integrates a person's values, attitudes, views, and spiritual factors when establishing professional and personal objectives.

The most thorough peer-reviewed study performed to date on the area of life coaching employs the Trans-theoretical Model of Change (TTM) performance improvement model (Grant, 2003). The author gauged the effects of the coaching process on mental wellbeing, metacognition, and goal attainment. The research concluded that cognitive-behavioral, solution-focused (CB/SF) coaching apparently aids clients in shifting from self-reflective self-regulation to awareness and action. Study participants who had not previously achieved their goals displayed improved goal achievement as well as better QOL and mental wellbeing.

People pursue both counseling and coaching when choosing behavioral modification interventions. However, research conducted by Hart, Leipsic, and Blattner revealed numerous major differences between the two. Counseling concentrates on treating depression or other definite conditions as defined under DSM-IV. Another fundamental distinction is time-orientation. Counseling or therapy typically concentrates on retrospection and revolves around unconscious, historical problems leading to pathological symptoms. The emphasis in coaching is on current conditions and goals for the future. Rather than addressing whatever occurred in the past, coaching is relatively more action-focused and revolves around maximizing potential through novel skill acquisition and superior decision-making and problem-solving. Both techniques promote insight, but coaching requires it for action whereas counseling requires it for healing. Whitmore and Hayden (1996) described this difference by stating that coaches serve clients with "how" questions whereas therapists serve clients with "why" questions.

Further differences discovered by Hart and colleagues (2001) centered on conversation types. Surveyed coaches reported that their interactions with clients were more informal and casual, frequently including humor and self-disclosure. Their discussions were also more task-centered and structured, involving strategic planning toward clear and tangible objectives. Counseling interactions, by contrast, were less defined and more concerned with identifying emotional problems through expressed feelings. Counseling and coaching were found to be similar in the areas of review techniques, potential power differentials, guidance in the form of recommendations, and boundary-related problems. While boundary issues are evident in both approaches, survey respondents believed more flexible boundaries exist within the coaching process.

Even more differences were reported by Richard (1999). Therapy or counseling chiefly measures client progress through self-reports, while performance measurement in the coaching process is carried out through clear criteria specified by both parties. Delivery styles differ as well — coaching is performed one-on-one, on the telephone, or via the internet (video conferencing, emails, etc.), whereas counseling is nearly always conducted one-on-one in the therapist's office. Lastly, compensation methods may differ. Insurance coverage usually exists for therapy, whereas sponsors or clients themselves typically pay for coaching services.

Transference, in the case of psychoanalytic treatment, is generally employed as a curative tool for highlighting client attitudes toward counselors in order to help clients achieve better self-insight. A majority of researchers accept that this tool is not employed by coaches (Hayden & Whitworth, 1996). In Levinson's (1996) view, a key difference between counseling and coaching is that the latter addresses reality issues and rarely utilizes overt interpretations of unconscious client opinions of their coach for explaining projection stemming from the client's personal history. He also recommended the application of rigorous psychotherapy when overwhelming unconscious pressures are present and a client cannot advance beyond his or her psychological barriers to progress.

It is widely agreed that managerial coaching and therapy differ in the former's emphasis on job performance problems and interpersonal skills. Bricklin (2001) believes that emotional and interpersonal skills increase in significance as a person advances in the corporate hierarchy. According to Tobias (1996), coaching is simply a different way of presenting psychological interventions; the term "coaching" makes the intervention appear less clinical and intimidating. A number of counselors and psychologists perceive coaching as a novel means of employing their skills; consequently, they are beginning to shift from the counselor's role to the role of a coach (Williams & Davis, 2002). This trend has given rise to concerns that counselors qualified in clinical therapy are entering the coaching domain without appropriate coaching skills. There are a few coaching models that do not differentiate much between counseling and coaching, compared to other models.

Scant peer-reviewed research can be found on the subject of life coaching as a means to train and guide professionals according to sound empirical principles. Nevertheless, the literature depicts inclusive corporate plan templates created expressly for the life coaching field. Rogers' (2004) tool for formulating corporate plans was analyzed thoroughly for its impact and effectiveness. Most study participants stated that the tool's advantage lay in its specific design for the life coaching field, with a focus on personal rather than business-related growth. Wilkins's (2000) research on personal coaching based on grounded theory revealed additional differences between corporate mentoring and coaching. The research indicated that coaches, unlike mentors, did not provide expert recommendations to their clients but instead adopted an experiential, facilitative strategy for encouraging learning.

The focus of Gargiulo's (2004) study was the need for looking ahead in life rather than backward, and having faith in those who guide a person. Coaches' and counselors' work must reflect a genuine wish to guide and support those under their care until they are able to progress independently. They need to bring the person through a sequence of developmental training phases. The author symbolically linked surmounting the problems one encounters in life to the learning of how to steer a bike across the bends and potholes of a road, with a coach's assistance. Davis and Williams (2002) describe life coaching as a strong, future-focused human relationship.

To this analogy, Strenger (2004) adds that difficulties associated with looking ahead frequently hamper progress. To successfully navigate potholes, one not only requires coaching and practice, but also harmony and depth of vision. Strenger claims he could confidently cross rough terrain because of his deep respect for, and faith in, his coach. Likewise, Davis and Williams (2002) elucidate that the relationship between a coach and client is a powerful bond founded on trust. They further state that some coach-client bonds may even be termed "soulful."

Critical Differences between Life Coaching and Counseling

The following sections examine the key dimensions along which life coaching and counseling differ, including goal orientation, communication style, confidentiality, attention to client history, and the detection of warning signs requiring clinical referral.

Goal Orientation

The end goal has already been identified as the main difference between the approaches employed by counseling and life coaching. In counseling, the theme of discussion is usually focused on the mental and behavioral health issues noted in the presence of the client. These disorders may range from acute depression to dysfunctional psychosocial disorders. Counseling deals with the repair of damage primarily from previous mental and behavioral strains, of which the client may or may not be aware. The counselor mainly employs polite and efficient interviewing, coupled with dialogue and discussion, to establish the causative agent of the client's mental disorders. In extreme situations, the counselor may recommend that the client be placed on medication, close therapies, and periodic analytical interventions.

On the other hand, life coaches focus on prospective goals to be realized by the client in the future. The approach usually emphasizes utilizing the individual's potential and capabilities to achieve a given goal or set of goals established by the client. Life coaches try to help individuals maximize their inputs on particular activities and targets in order to achieve fulfillment both personally and socially. Moreover, both approaches promote self-realization and awareness. However, they operate on completely different timescales: counseling moves from past experiences and traumas to the present condition, whereas life coaching moves from current conditions to future possibilities.

Literature on the subject indicates that every coaching relationship is associated with some aim. Evidence-based works cite numerous philosophical perspectives related to life coaching, with different objectives. Newnham-Kanas and colleagues (2010) as well as Kimsey-House and colleagues (2011) state that three principles — balance, life process, and fulfillment — form the basis for life coaching and function as objectives to enable change and maximize client ability (Newnham-Kanas et al., 2010; Whitworth et al., 2007). Fulfillment denotes that an individual is leading an active life that he or she treasures, while being wholly expressive of who he or she is. Life process highlights the client's current QOL, what is taking place with them at present, and where they are now. Lastly, balance is crucial to the client's QOL, concentrating on harmonious flow, progress, and action (Whitworth et al., 2007). Crafting a highly fulfilling life means creating a pleasant life with purpose and meaning, true to one's personal values (Newnham-Kanas et al., 2010). Attaining balance necessitates broadening the client's perspective on different aspects of life and turning newly emerged options into meaningful action (Irwin & Morrow, 2005; Newnham-Kanas et al., 2011). Adhering to the "life process" principle helps deal with inner emotional experience and whatever is currently taking place with the client (Newnham-Kanas et al., 2010). These three elements propel a client toward achieving their utmost potential and cultivating a more balanced and fulfilling life (Newnham-Kanas et al., 2010).

Learning is a second aim of coaching, as put forward by researchers (Griffiths & Campbell, 2009). Cox and Lawton-Smith (2007) hold that client development constitutes a salient aspect of coaching. Coaching endeavors to minimize opposition to learning, optimize conditions for learning, and facilitate client advancement (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990; Wang & Millward, 2014). The ICF (2015) suggests that enabling learning and producing outcomes are integral to the coaching process. Professional and personal performance enhancement represents yet another coaching goal (Whitmore, 2004; Stewart et al., 2008). Clients can also put forward a number of individual expectations and goals for coaches (Lawton-Smith & Cox, 2007).

Conclusion

From the above discussion, it is evident that both life coaching and counseling are closely related fields that play a crucial role in the betterment of an individual's personal and psychological welfare. But they also have many fundamental differences related to requirements and approaches employed. In life coaching, the coach focuses on the end goal, which is usually defined and agreed upon when the life coach and client enter into a coaching contract. Counselors, in contrast, usually do not have any particularly defined endpoint except to guide the client step-by-step until a given psychological problem is resolved. The two professions are similar in that they both aim to help a client better their life, and most people cannot discern the deep disparities between them. Due to these similarities, it becomes difficult for clients and professionals alike to distinguish the two fields and determine which service they require. This can result in life coaches masquerading as counselors, or coaches taking on clinical work beyond their competence. Hence, there is a need for clear guidelines and oversight to distinctly define and separate the two fields, protecting the welfare of clients and the integrity of both professions.

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