Coaching Services

What Is Life Coaching?

Life coaching is intended to help you reach your potential in terms of who you want to be or what you want to accomplish.

 

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What Can Life Coaching Help With?

Life coaching can help with a wide range of future-oriented outcomes. These may be related to your work, relationships, life/work balance, or general contentment.

 

Specific examples include:

• Improved performance at work as seen in greater productivity

• Improved work performance in terms of better efficiency

• Increased self-confidence

• Improved relationships (more cooperation, less conflict, etc.)

• Improved communication skills

• Better balance of time spent at work vs. at home

• Improved time management at home

• Improved effectiveness of a working team

• Improved physical health and emotional well-being

 

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Life Coaching vs. Psychotherapy/Counselling

Life coaching is different from psychotherapy/counselling in several critical ways. Most importantly, life coaching is not intended to treat any emotional or mental illness.

 

Coaching is aimed at taking a current life situation which is tolerable but less than ideal toward a future outcome which is highly desired.

Psychotherapy/counselling often addresses current situations which are not tolerable and causing significant distress.

 

A psychotherapist/counsellor is educated and experienced in working with individuals who have serious psychological issues.

 

(At Samway Counselling Services, the best of both worlds are on offer. Wayne does not only have have training in Coaching, but is also a qualified, registered Counsellor (Member of the Australian Counselling Association). Should coaching not be suitable for you at this point, Wayne is in a position to let you know this and either discuss counselling options  with you  instead, or refer you to another counsellor if this will better serve your needs.

 

A second critical difference between life coaching and psychotherapy is that life coaches do not address problems related to past unresolved losses or traumas. Life coaching is exclusively focused upon the present and future, while psychotherapy usually involves some understanding of the past as well as coping with the present and preparing for the near future.

 

Thirdly, life coaches differ from therapists in terms of the role of support in the relationship. Psychotherapists will be supportive as needed during the therapy process, as they are fully aware that their clients are often in a state of distress. Life coaches must focus upon goals and measurable outcomes as opposed to coping with current distress. Therefore, life coaches will primarily be a motivator and an accountability partner as opposed to a supportive person.

 

A fourth difference between the role of life coach versus psychotherapist is that the former will usually be much more open about their personal life, at least in their advertising of services and social media presence. Most psychotherapists only reveal facts of their personal lives when relevant and helpful to the topic presented by the client, such as to express empathy.