Coaching vs. Therapy vs.

Consulting
Similarities between Success Coaching and Therapy:

• Both professions are based on an ongoing, confidential, one-to-one relationship between

the practitioner and their client.
• Clients come to both services wanting change.
• Both professions assume that significant change will only occur over time.
• Within the both relationships, regular sessions are scheduled, during which conversations
occur.
• Other similarities of practice exist.

Differences between Coaching and Therapy:

The context of the relationship, condition of the client, and content of the sessions differ between
the two professions as follows.

Coaches work with people who are:

• Eager to move to a higher level of functioning

• Seeking focus, strategy, and motivation
• Asking “How to?” questions
• Designing their future
• Learning new skills
• Seeking more balance in their lives

Therapists work with people who are:

• Seeking self-understanding
• Asking “Why?” questions
• Dealing with past issues, emotional pain or traumas
• Psychologically challenged in a quantifiable way

How is Coaching Different from Consulting?

Consulting and Coaching differ greatly. Consulting requires that the consultant have expertise in
the area that the client seeks advice, whereas Coaches do not advise their clients at all. Coaches
do not need to have specific knowledge or experience in the topic area that the client wishes to
improve. The Coach instead offers expertise in the change, goal attainment, and accountability
process, which is effective regardless of whether the client is seeking to lose weight, make
changes in their business, learn a new skill, or stop a habit. In some cases, however, when a
Coach offers a niche form of coaching (for example, health, fitness, business startup, purpose,
team building, etc), the coach does have expertise and knowledge about their particular niche and
does provide advise based on such knowledge. The differentiation between niche coaching and
consulting is that the consultant holds the power in the relationship, however in a coaching
relationship the partnership holds the power.
Distinctions among Success Coaching, Therapy, and
Consulting.
Comparison Coaching Therapy Consulting
Client is creative,
resourceful, and
Client needs/wants Client needs advice, solutions,
Client status whole; wants
healing or help
forward movement
and results
Client is the expert
In some niche Therapist is the
Who is the expert? Consultant is the expert
coaching cases, the expert
coach is the expert
Asks what Asks why
Questions? Answers questions
questions questions
Focus on Focus on
Time focus Focus on present/future
present/future past/present
Agenda Client’s Therapist’s Consultant’s
Problem is
analyzed/may or
Client solves may not be solved,
Problem solving Consultant solves the problem
problem “Why is this
happening?” is
primary focus