How is coaching different from consulting or counseling?
Coaching has become a very hot topic in the last 3 to 5 years. Now it seems like everyone is calling themselves a “coach”. I take coaching very seriously and I do not lightly apply the term “coaching” to everything I do. Good coaches understand the difference between coaching, consulting and counseling. Most counseling is centered around healing mental and psychological concerns. Generally the patient comes into the counseling center or hospital to be treated for their “problem.” The psychologist or therapist generally applies a diagnosis that identifies what the patient is struggling with and prescribes a treatment plan. In coaching there is no diagnosis. There is no “doctor-patient” relationship. The coaching relationship is founded upon the belief that each person is equal-coaching is a partnership of equals. A coach does not prescribe a treatment plan, instead you and your coach develop a plan together. The solution to your “problem,” as defined in coaching, is not found in delving
