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What Psychiatrists say about life coaching
“We need more people like [Nick] to treat what we call ‘miserable life syndrome’, which is not depression, not anxiety...- Dr. Shah Tarfarosh, Psychiatrist, MBBS, PGCert (Cantab), MRCPsych,
[He’s] doing a fantastic job”
Oxford Deanery at Oxford School of Psychiatry
In other words, being unhappy in life is not necessarily the same as being severely anxious or depressed (the latter two require professional psychiatric and/or psychological support).
Sometimes we can feel unhappy because we just feel we are not where we want to be in life. We can know deep down there's more to life, that we have unrealised potential, and feel unfulfilled and unsatisfied.
A brief history
Traditionally, life coaching was touted as suitable only for functional high-fliers who wanted to take their life to another level, while therapy was prescribed if you were dysfunctional or mentally unwell.
However, both coaching and therapy have evolved (and overlapped somewhat) since then, especially with more therapists and psychologists offering life coaching as well as therapy.
New therapeutic approaches emerging such as Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, which is closer aligned to coaching than traditional psychodynamic therapy, ie. the “tell me about your childhood” approach.
Why choose coaching over counselling?
According to the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP):
"Coaching is about change and action. The core purpose of coaching is to increase self-awareness, to make choices explicit, and to close the gap between potential and how things are currently.
While counselling is reparative in nature, coaching has a developmental focus.”
In other words, generally therapy is still more about treating poor mental health and healing, while coaching is more about developing yourself, and reaching and unlocking your full potential in a solution-focused way.
Can people with mental health problems benefit from coaching?
People with mental health problems can still benefit from coaching, and coaching can still have therapeutic qualities.
With the right relationship between coach and client, coaching can certainly be transformative - and perhaps even life-changing.
However, if you suffer from mental health conditions such as (but not limited to) severe depression or anxiety, or are thinking of harming yourself or others, you need to seek professional medical, psychiatric and/or psychological advice and support in the first instance, rather than coaching.
Therapy and coaching can be complementary
You can work with both a coach and a therapist at the same time, so long as their approaches are complementary and it’s not in violation of any codes of ethics for the practitioners. Plenty of people do both and they can work well together.
The limitations of therapy
Of course, there are limitations to therapy as well as coaching. For example, a therapist will most likely not be able (or willing) to help you with some entrepreneurial coaching to increase your sales or launch that business you’ve always wanted to start, career or life coaching to help you find your most meaningful work, get that dream job etc.
Therapists tend to be much more regulated and constrained by laws, codes of ethics and rules, whereas coaches tend to have more free-reign and autonomy. This can have both its advantages and disadvantages.
The limitations of coaching
A coach will most likely not be able to diagnose or treat mental health disorders, nor should they attempt to, unless they are a dual-trained practitioner of both coaching and therapy and have suitable specialist training and qualifications, such as in psychotherapy, counselling, or in the emerging field of Therapeutic Coaching which is now officially recognised by the BACP.
A coach may however be able to share their lived experience of what has worked for them, provide stress management and resilience techniques, and help you get your emotional needs met, such as meaning and purpose, community and belonging, intimacy, and help you make positive changes through taking the right action, as well as help you with personal growth and development.
Experts by lived experience
Some life coaches can be considered to be ‘experts by lived experience’, and good ones will typically have done a lot of personal development, as well professional coach training, and perhaps have overcome some of life’s challenges themselves.
Interestingly, the NHS is now offering ‘Peer Coaching’ which is where trained coaches support others using their own lived experience of mental health and help with lifestyle changes and goals. This could well be considered a form of life coaching.
In 12-Step Addiction Recovery, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, there are also peer recovery coaches known as ‘Sponsors’ who are merely people who have managed to achieve sobriety and recovery, and provide mentorship and coaching to less experienced people in recovery.
The 12-Step approach to addiction recovery has interestingly been shown to be one of the most effective when compared with other methods like Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (Source: Cochrane Review, 2020).
Even therapists and psychologists need coaching
One of Nick’s previous clients, Dr. Kate Brierton, a Clinical Psychologist and Doctor of Clinical Psychology, said:
"I knew I was looking for something a bit more flexible than standard therapy and Nick's life coaching fitted the bill perfectly. Nick helped me to develop life goals, removed many of the blocks in the way of achieving these goals and set me achievable action plans each week to move me forward"
Another client, Luise Sargent, a Psychotherapist, said:
Nick has given me the clarity I needed to push forward in my career, he has listened to my ideas and has steered me along a much more productive path. As a Mental Health Professional it was easy to presume I had all the answers but I was stuck. With Nick's help the fog has cleared and I can see a much brighter future.
When to seek coaching
Sometimes, you might want or need to get clarity on your career or your life, improve well-being, make tangible changes to your lifestyle or need help unlocking your full potential. Perhaps you may have already done therapy and feel fairly functional, but you just feel “stuck” in life and you’re not quite sure why.
As a professional life coach, Nick is trained in a wide range of modalities including solution-focused coaching, psychodynamics and positive psychology, and guided imagery and visualisation techniques.
Whether you’re suffering from low motivation, low self-confidence or self-esteem, procrastination, or whether you want to improve your life, your well-being, your relationships, dating or achieve goals, Nick is well-placed to help you.
Please note: while Nick is trusted by doctors, psychologists and neuroscientists, and has some therapeutic training, his work is not a replacement for professional medical, psychiatric or psychological treatment, as per his coaching agreement.