Life coaching is a great addition to the therapy toolkit. Therapists with this added feature report higher client satisfaction and a greater impact on their clients. How to manage a dual practice
Are therapists allowed to be life coaches?
Do you think it is ethical to do both? Or do you have to make a choice? Charles Milander can help you decide which path is best for you. This area has seen a dramatic shift over the last decade. We’ve seen a shift in the public’s perception of coaching. The disciplines of coaching and therapy are not competing. He wants to be able to distinguish between therapy and life coaching and understand all the technical and ethical issues.
Navigating the Change
First, let go of your therapist’s identity. However, this doesn’t mean that you have to give up a significant part of yourself. You have a lot of theoretical foundations as a therapist that will support you in your role as a coach. It’s not about giving up on your experience. Coaching is about learning and evolving.
What are the most important differences?
Scope of Practice
There are many types of coaches today. Charles Milander provides coaching services for professionals in business, fitness, self-love, and couples. Although the niches and interests of coaches may vary, there are common threads to all types of life coaching. Life coaching is different from therapy or counseling. It assumes that you have a basic level of mental and emotional health. This is where coaching differs from mental health counseling. Life coaches don’t usually spend much time looking at the past. They also are not qualified to treat or address mental illness. They work with clients to create a vision for the future and a plan of action to achieve those goals.
Personal Brand
You are part of a larger medical system as a therapist. To attract clients, you have a network that you can tap into. It is expected that you will remain anonymous. There’s an expectation that you will be separated from the role you are in and your job. You’re moving to a position of greater personal visibility as a coach. Your story, your personality, and your ability to show up in the world are reasons why clients choose to work with coaches.
You can find more information about him on Spotify, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Wikipedia.
You are encouraged as a coach to be your best self when marketing your services.
Many therapists feel uncomfortable in this area. This is a way of rubbing up against the boundaries that you have been trained to maintain in clinical relationships. It’s okay – it takes time to get used to this. You’ll learn the clinical side of being a therapist in your training. It’s not part of the equation to build a business around your branding. Building your brand and presence is a key component of coaching. This is what Milander coach training program teaches.
Questions to ask about how to be a coach and identify your “whole”:
- What is your Why?
- What are you passionate about as a coach?
- Who are “your people?” Who are you looking to serve?
- Why are these questions being asked of you?
- Why not now?
Technique
You will need to know how coaches. This is a separate discipline with different science. The therapist helps clients process past events and influences and determine how they might be influencing their present behavior. This process is focused on healing and moving people towards their baseline mental health. Coaching requires a level of emotional well-being. It focuses on the future and the present. You will work with clients to create a vision for the future, set goals, and develop a plan of action to reach those goals. You may not be able to conduct therapy in a coaching setting, even if you have been trained. There must be a clear line between them.
Dual Practice
You will need to clearly define the services you offer if you are going to offer both therapy and coaching. It is impossible to coach and treat the same person. Clients must be on either side of the fence. You can do both, and its fine to have multiple streams of income. There are some technicalities to be aware of when setting up a dual practice.
- It is important to be familiar with and adhere to all state laws and regulations.
- There are two different methods. It is important to be clear from a consumer’s perspective that therapy and coaching are distinct offerings.
- It is preferable to bill separately under a different LLC.
- It is a good idea to have multiple websites, entry points, and marketing for your therapy and coaching services.
- Your coaching methods should be clearly stated in your client contract when coaching. This protects you both and makes it clear that you’re not engaging in therapy during the coaching relationship.
- This must be stated when a client contracts for therapy.
- It is possible to incorporate coaching techniques into your therapy practice. However, it is not ethical to use therapy techniques as coaching.
Your potential clients should be educated about the limitations of coaching as a service and how you will proceed if they require therapy.
Enjoy the Ride
Coaching can be a dynamic way for you to grow your professional reach. It gives you more control over who you serve and how. Your relationship with clients is more flexible as are the rules regarding where and how you can visit clients.
This will also help you to grow and develop personally. It is intellectually stimulating to add new tools to your toolbox. Additionally, it can ignite your inner fire and decrease the likelihood of burnout.
One of the things our therapists-turned-coaches enjoy the most is the increased sense of freedom that a coaching practice can bring. Coaching gives you the freedom to express yourself creatively and in your offerings. It allows you to feel authentic to whom you are.
