Life Coach vs Counselor: Which is for me?
Life coach vs counselor…who should I be working with? What the heck is the difference anyways??!
It’s easy to get confused between life coaching vs counseling.
But while on the surface they may seem a lot a like, in reality they use very different techniques and processes to get results from clients. We get asked a lot about the difference between a life coach and counselor, so today our goal is to answer that question and provide as much information as possible so your choice can be an easy one!
What does a life coach do?
To start, we define life coaching as the bridge that closes the gap between who you are today and where you want to be tomorrow. Life coaching is present and future based. It is encouraging, motivating, collaborative, action-oriented, and sometimes challenging. The purpose of a life coach is helping you find what’s wrong, fixing it, setting goals, and moving towards achieving them. It doesn’t dwell in the past or fixate on underlying issues. It’s solution-based, not problem based.
What does a counselor do?
Counseling is also an equally incredible experience, but the process and the results are very different. Mental health therapy seeks to resolve issues from the past in order to raise you to a normal level of functioning for the present. It dives into old wounds and undiagnosed behaviors in order to find understanding into why we are holding ourselves back from everyday life. Counseling looks to fix you and help you become whole again. The process is non-judgmental, people-centered, and inquisitive.
Should I see a counselor?
In order to decide if you are a candidate for counseling, ask yourself these questions:
- Am I currently living at a normal level of functioning for someone my age?
- Do I have severe behaviors that I do not understand and cannot control?
- Am I looking for medication to help me move forward with problems?
- Have I engaged in self-harm or the harm of others?
- Do I feel lost, hopeless, confused and melancholy?
- Have any of my behaviors created alienation between me and my family or close friends?
If you answer “yes” to any of these questions, then you are most likely an ideal candidate for mental health therapy and should look for a counselor in your area.
Is a life coach right for me?
In order to decide if you are a candidate for life coaching, ask yourselves these questions:
- Do I feel stuck in my current relationship, job, or lifestyle?
- Do I want to make a change in my life, but I’m not sure how or are too scared?
- Do I have a goal I wish to accomplish, but have no clue how to start?
- Am I experiencing disappointment in myself and the choices I’ve made up until this point?
- Do I lack the self-confidence I need in order to move forward in life?
- Am I acting in a way that is sabotaging my happiness and I need help stopping?
If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then you are most likely an ideal candidate for life coaching and should start seeking one out today.
How much does a life coach cost versus counseling?
Pricing between life coaching and counseling can be vastly different depending on the services you are seeking. Some mental health counselors accept insurance, which can drastically lower the price per session for patients. If you have a robust insurance plan, you may be able to find a skilled counselor who has spots open for insurance patients. Many counselors will limit the amount of insurance clients they see, so many times you will need to find a newer counselor.
Private pay mental health counselors charge anywhere between $100/hr to $500/hr, depending on their speciality and experience.
There are also online counseling platforms that offer video sessions and texting. BetterHelp starts their pricing out at $260/mo for texting and video sessions. Talkspace, another online space for counselors, costs $196/mo for unlimited texting and $316/mo for texting with four video sessions.
Life coaching, on the other hand, as a vast range of pricing. The average cost of a life coaching sessions costs around $200/hr, with high-end and executive coaching packages starting at $2,000 per quarter.
Blush Online Life Coaching offers memberships for journaling (like emails!) or video sessions starting at $79/mo. Now that you know the differences, we hope you’re able to secure the right kind of help you need in order to end up exactly where you belong!
Originally published at https://joinblush.com on July 18, 2019.
Are you ready to enjoy affordable life coaching on the go? Check out our monthly plans at joinblush.com.
Still not sure if Life Coaching is for you? Or maybe you just want to learn more about it? Then take a look through these reads:
3 Awesome Benefits of Life Coaching: Your Best Investment
