Why Choose Coaching Over Therapy?

Learn when life coaching might be the more aligned path—especially during times of transition, uncertainty, challenge, or growth.

There’s a common question I often hear:

How do I know if I need a therapist or a life coach?

• While both coaching and therapy offer powerful support, they serve very different purposes.
• Life Coaching focuses on making sense of what is, in the present, and guiding you towards taking aligned action, for creating your future, where you want to be.
• If you're navigating a life transition, challenge or facing inner uncertainty, coaching provides a supportive, forward-moving space to build the inner tools you need to thrive.
• Therapy focuses on healing your past.
• Depending on where you are in your journey, one may be more aligned with your current needs than the other.

Why do we go to a Physical Fitness Coach?

• To build strength, flexibility, and resilience in our body—to move better, feel stronger, and adapt to life’s physical demands. By making our body more resourceful, we enhance our experience of life.

Why do we go to a Life Coach?

• Life coaching offers the same kind of training, but for your inner life.
• A life coach helps you strengthen your inner awareness, mindset flexibility, and emotional agility, so you can move through change with more confidence and less overwhelm. By making our inner self more resourceful, we enhance our experience of life.
• Coaching isn’t about fixing what’s broken—it’s about becoming aware, tapping into, and enhancing what’s already within you.

What Coaching Is Not

Coaching is not a replacement for therapy—especially if you are in crisis, navigating trauma, or managing a mental health diagnosis.

Therapy can be life-changing, and there’s absolutely space for both therapy and coaching on your journey.

Coaching Is for You If…

• You feel stuck and don’t know why
• You’re navigating a major life change and feeling lost or stressed
• You want to feel more emotionally resilient
• You’re craving clarity and aligned direction
• You’re ready to take conscious steps forward—but feel blocked or overwhelmed

So When Is Life Coaching the Better Fit?

1. When You’re Seeking Forward Momentum Rather Than Healing the Past
   • Therapy is a powerful space for healing trauma, understanding mental health, and processing deep emotional wounds from the past.
   • Coaching, on the other hand, focuses on the present and the future. It’s about identifying where you are, where you want to go, and what’s getting in the way.
   • If you're feeling stuck, unclear about your next step, or yearning to create change—but you're emotionally stable—coaching can help you move forward with clarity and intention.
2. When You Want Tools for Growth, Not a Diagnosis
   • Therapists are trained to assess, diagnose, and treat mental health conditions.
   • Coaches don’t diagnose—we listen, reflect, question, and guide you through self-discovery.
   • In my coaching, the focus is on practical tools, mindset shifts, and emotional resilience strategies to help you move from stuck to empowered.
3. When You’re in a Life Transition and Want to Realign
   • Many of my clients come to coaching during periods of transition: career changes, relationship shifts, parenthood, grief, loss, burnout, or growth.
   • These moments often stir inner uncertainty, even if everything looks “fine” on the outside.
   • Coaching offers a supportive container to explore who you’re becoming, release limiting patterns, and take aligned action toward what truly matters to you.
4. When You’re Ready to Be an Active Creator in Your Life
   • Coaching is a collaborative process. It works best when you’re ready to take ownership of your path and are open to honest self-inquiry.
   • You may not know the answers yet (that’s okay!), but you’re willing to explore them with support.

Still Wondering If Coaching Is Right for You?

If you’re unsure whether life coaching is the right step, that’s completely natural.

I invite you to explore, ask questions, and connect.

Book a free discovery call to see if we're a good fit to work together.