What Do You Mean My Life Coach Isn’t My Therapist?
Clarifying the Differences Between Various Mental Health and Related Professionals
In our February, 2021 post “How to Find the Right Therapist” we talked, among other things, about what all the various licensing abbreviations mean. This time we are going to clarify the differences between various mental health and related professionals including training and certification/licensure.
We will be looking at therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, and life coaches. We hope this information will help you determine what kind of care you need.
What is a Therapist?
A therapist must hold a master’s level degree from an accredited academic program as well as a license to practice in their state. If a person only holds a master’s degree but not a license, they are not legally able to provide you with therapy although they are able to provide other sorts of mental health services. Therapists are also legally bound to observe HIPAA and other health privacy laws as well as the Code of Ethics of their governing body – the American Counseling Association.
Why Might You Want a Therapist?
Therapists are trained to help you with a vast array of life challenges and mental illnesses. These can include making career changes (such as a licensed therapist with career counseling expertise), overcoming depression, family issues, or severe mental illnesses such as Bipolar I disorder or Schizophrenia.
What is a Psychologist?
A psychologist is a person who has earned either a Ph.D or Psy.D in psychology. Like a therapist, a psychologist must also be licensed before they can practice therapy. Clinical psychologists have an even more advanced and sophisticated level of training than therapists. Psychologists are also legally bound to observe HIPAA and other health privacy laws as well as the Code of Ethics of their governing body – the American Psychological Association.
A non-clinical psychologist also has an advanced level of training but may adhere to the American Counseling Association’s guidelines.
Why Might You Want a Psychologist?
Whether or not you want to choose a psychologist or a therapist depends on what challenges you are facing as well as the training of the specific professional. A therapist with 10 years of experience may or may not provide better care for your issue than a newly minted psychologist with less experience.
What is a Psychiatrist?
Above all, psychiatry is a medical degree. Unlike a psychologist, a psychiatrist has an MD or “Doctor of Medicine.” A psychiatrist’s education is in mental health medication. There are many places you might find a psychiatrist working. For a person who is seeing a therapist or psychologist in an outpatient setting—meaning one or twice a week in a therapist’s office—they may also work in conjunction with a psychiatrist for mental health medication.
A psychiatrist must also be licensed. A psychiatrist must obtain a certification from the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and as well as a medical license, as outlined here by the American Psychiatric Association, in order to prescribe you medication. If you haven’t guessed already, psychiatrists also have their own Code of Ethics that they must abide by.
Why Might You Want a Psychiatrist?
A psychiatrist’s bread and butter is mental health medication. While your general practitioner or primary care doctor is legally allowed to prescribe mental health medication this is not their area of training or expertise. Nobody knows the ins and outs of prescribing and monitoring mental health medication like a psychiatrist does.
What is a Life Coach?
I went to certified coach Sasha Davis, founder of Mercury & Kolb life coaching, to get the answer. As she describes, proper life coaching is not toxic positivity on Instagram. A proper life coach is someone who can help you set and reach your goals, support you so you accomplish more than you would have on your own, and improve your focus so that you can produce the results you want faster.
Sasha explained life coaching is not regulated in the same way the other professionals identified here are. “Anyone can hang their shingle” (Davis), however, there is a gold standard of life coaching that has been set by the International Coaching Federation (ICF). The ICF has its own Code of Ethics, framework, and strict standards for accrediting their member coaches.
There are four levels of recognized ICF coach accreditation and each requires more education and hours practicing life coaching than the one before it. These are:
1. Certified Coach
2. Associated Certified Coach
3. Professional Certified Coach
4. Master Certified Coach
Because of this ICF associated life coaches are the way to go. Additionally, clients can file complaints with the ICF if they believe their coach has done something inappropriate. While this does not include legal actions, a coach can be stripped of the ICF accreditation.
Why Might You Want a Life Coach?
The practical difference between a therapist and a life coach is that a therapist helps you “dig really deep into your backstory” (Davis). As we discussed above, a therapist helps you to process, sort, and resolve all manner of mental health challenges.
A life coach, on the other hand, may be a good choice for next step after therapy as a life coach can help you identify what is getting in the way of achieving your new post-therapy goals. Questions Sasha has seen among her clients post-therapy have included:
“What do I do now?”
“How do I take what I learned and apply it?”
“What steps do I need to take to maintain the progress I’ve made?”
If you want to find a life coach Sasha recommended The Academy of Creative Coaching for their focus on diversity and actively pairing you with a coach they think will be a good match. You can also go to the ICF website to search for credentialed life coaches.
Here at Obsidian, we love what we do and we always do our best to give you the best we possibly can. If you ever need help or guidance, please do not hesitate to contact us at the following:
Kari Holman –
(847) 450-0460
kariholmancounseling@gmail.com
Ilyssa Lasky –
(224) 255-4411