What is Counselling?
According to the Counselling Directory: Counselling falls under the umbrella term ‘talking therapies’ and allows people to discuss their problems and any difficult feelings they encounter in a safe, confidential environment. The term can mean different things to different people, but in general, it is a process people seek when they want to change something in their lives, or simply explore their thoughts and feelings in more depth.
A counsellor is not there to sit you down and tell you what to do. Instead, they will encourage you to talk about what’s bothering you in order to uncover any root causes and identify your specific ways of thinking. The counsellor may then look to create a plan of action to either help you reconcile your issues, or help you to find ways of coping.
Who counselling helps?
According to the definition above, counselling helps those who feel overwhelmed emotionally and they cannot see a way out. And this is understandable.
Talking through our emotions does help us to become clearer about what we feel and why we feel it. Also, the coping mechanisms, given during counselling are useful. Absolutely. I have used them myself. Having said that, what I have noticed was that, although I was coping, the desired change in my life didn’t happen. The truth is that whatever I was going through was on a much deeper level and I had to come to terms with it, in order to start creating the change I was desiring.
I do not point fingers at anyone but in my humble opinion, coping works in the short term. Real transformation works in the long term.
Similarities and differences between life coaching and counselling
There are a few similarities between life coaching and counselling:
- both services can offer advice, related to the emotional state
- both services require absolute honesty and openness
- both services are based on a “non-judgemental stance”
- both services can offer individual and group sessions
The differences between counselling and life coaching are:
- A life coach will hold you accountable for the work you supposed to do
- With a life coach, you will be working on achieving a specific goal in your life. Any goal like a business goal, relationship goal, financial goal, or emotional goal. Anything that you want to change in your life and you are prepared to take the necessary steps and work towards it
- A life coach can help you transform your life by bringing you into the mindset of a winner
- A life coach is interested in your personal growth, development and maturity
Why choose life coaching?
I see life coaching as a continuation of counselling. I will not recommend a life coach to those, who really feel emotionally overwhelmed or depressed. Those people should seek counselling, in order to gain at least a little bit of clarity and to regain some of their strength back.
Life coaching requires really deep digging into oneself and helps to find the inner strengths and take responsibility for one’s life and resources to continue transforming one’s life. The transformation process, depending on the personal issues, can vary. The life coach keeps the coachee responsible for the work that has to be done. What is the point to pay for sessions if the transformational work is not done?
As a life coach, the best reward for me is seeing how my clients transform their lives. Transformation is so big and profound that they cannot recognise themselves.
Transformation of the self is so big and beneficial, that the client looks back with pride because of what has been achieved. And why would one want to go back to the emotional pain, unfulfilled dreams and living a life without purpose?
