Is personal growth on your agenda for 2017? For those who want to get out of a rut, heal from trauma, face addiction, or improve their relationships, it can be helpful to find an ally to provide support and guidance through potentially challenging personal evolution. Because choosing between therapy, counseling, and coaching can be a mystifying process, this blog offers a guide to selecting the one that is right for you. All three share a common focus on educating clients to take charge of their own evolutionary process.

Therapy

Therapy is designed to uncover and heal old psychological and emotional wounds that create ongoing difficulties in people’s lives. Initially, psychiatry evolved within medicine to treat mental illness with therapy called “analysis,” but with the advent of psychotropic drugs psychiatry has come to focus primarily on diagnosing mental illness, distinguishing it from other physical issues, and treating unbalanced brain chemistry with drugs. Talk therapy has become the province of psychologists who are trained in evaluating and treating mental and emotional disorders. Marriage and Family Therapists (MFT) and Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSW) also provide therapy.

While psychiatrists have completed medical school, specialized in psychiatry, and can write prescriptions like all other MDs, psychologists have PhDs attained in graduate schools, specialize in specific forms of mental illness or types of clients, and cannot write prescriptions. For instance, Dr. Rachel Kieran has a PsyD in Psychology, is certified to conduct disability assessments, and provides individual and relational therapy for a diverse range of LGBTQ+, polyamorous, and kinky clients.


Best Choice

Therapy is best for people who want to address the emotional and psychological roots of their issues, heal the past traumas, and create new ways to deal with life that support improved self-esteem and mental health. That is a tall order, and it takes some time to complete, so therapy is best for people willing to attend/able to afford ongoing sessions for several months at least.

Counseling

A very flexible term, counseling covers a wide range of practices and professionals. From high school students and career seekers to the recently bereaved and couples in relationship crisis, counselors tend to specialize in a specific population or type of issue. Counseling can take the form of simple talk therapy or gestalt, to much more applied forms of assistance like job searches or resume development. Some counselors can provide therapy on par with a psychologist, MFT, or LCSW, although fewer counselors are certified to administer tests and evaluations like psychologists.
For instance, Angelique Burke has a dual Master's of Science in Career Counseling and Mental Health Counseling, and an Educational Specialist degree. Burke specializes in relationships, LGBT+ communities, and infertility.

Best Choice

Counseling is best for people who want to focus on a specific topic with a specialized professional. It can also be a good choice for clients with less money to spare for mental health care, because the range of practitioners provide a wide range of fees as well. Timing is flexible with counseling as well, and clients can address a particular issue in a few sessions or continue counseling on complex and interlocking issues for years.

Coaching

Coaching focuses on personal growth, goal attainment, and behavioral change. The most recent addition to this trio of personal growth assistance, coaching is also the least regulated of the three practices. Some coaches simply decide they have something special to share and begin providing coaching services to clients. Others pay to attend training programs and become certified by organizations like the International Association of Coaching. Finally, some coaches are subject-area experts and provide information, guidance, and advice based on their expertise. For instance, I earned a PhD in Sociology, have researched polyamory and kink/BDSM for the past 20 years, and have written extensively on my results. Using that expertise, I provide one-time consultations for people who are wondering how AltSex practices might affect their lives, as well as ongoing coaching for folks who are in AltSex relationships and wish to develop strategies for improving communication skills, dealing with conflict, or managing emotions like jealousy and anxiety.