I’d like to share one more lesson learned in struggles. While I touched on the value of certain characteristics (a listening ear, not being quick to make assumptions, being cautious about being unsolicited advice, not being judgmental in a negative, condemning way) as well as the value of good friends and a relationship with God, I forgot to mention something else that’s important.
I know for sure I wouldn’t be the person I am today without getting help, specifically through two modalities:
Counseling & Coaching
What’s the difference, you might wonder?
Basically, I think of “counseling” as the process of sitting with a professional counselor or therapist who listens to a client discuss his/her past and also use therapeutic techniques to help a client through gaining insight, understanding, and learning coping tools/skills. There are many types of counseling. Counseling can help people overcome depression, anxiety, loss, addiction, and trauma – just to name a few things. There is also a type of counseling geared towards self-improvement. Counseling tends to be a longer process though some counselors provide short-term counseling for specific issues.
*There are lay counselors-such as pastoral counselors-that may not be licensed but can sometimes be very helpful as well.
On the other hand, I think of “coaching” as the process of sitting with a professional life coach who helps a person navigate from where he/she is to where he/she wants to be. Life coaching tends to be more solution-oriented in general and is more future-focused than past-focused. Coaching generally is beneficial in a client who is highly motivated and just needs help untangling issues and moving forward to achieve goals. Coaching tends to more of a short-term process.
*Coaching doesn’t tend to work well generally in folks that are actively struggling with addiction or mental health issues in my experience working with clients. These people benefit more from counseling.
Now, both of these modalities can involve a certain amount of mentoring, where someone who has a bit of experience passes on tips, wisdom, and instructions to guide a person.
Also, each of these modalities serve distinct, but important functions and depending where someone is on his/her journey, he/she could benefit from either one of these to help him/her heal or grow in his/her journey.
Personally, any time I’ve really struggled in life, I’ve benefitted tremendously from counselors and life coaches I’ve seen over the years.
And my journey continues…
You may recall that at the beginning of this series, I mentioned how I’m personally going through some struggles.
Well, after some soul-searching, I decided to dive into a specific coaching process I’ve never entered into before.
To give you a peak behind the curtains, I’m currently learning a bunch about “attachment science,” and I’m engaged in my own process of doing “attachment coaching” for my own healing and growth.
It’s fascinating!
Our attachment style has to do with how we relate to others, which is often based upon patterns of relating we develop in childhood based upon the way we bond with our parents and our histories in our families of origin.
More importantly – to officially wrap up this series –
Here are some last questions to consider:
Did you know the differences between counseling or life coaching?
Have you ever done any counseling or life coaching?
If so, was it beneficial and -how specifically – was it beneficial to you?
Thanks again for reading this article series! I hope it was of some benefit to you.
Let’s thrive and be and remember: counseling & coaching can be incredibly helpful in your life if you need it!
