Coaching Compared to Counselling
Counselling, is a highly skilled intervention focused on helping individuals address underlying psychological problems. It generally focuses on resolving the past to create a better present.
| Counselling | Coaching |
|---|---|
| Broader focus and greater depth | Narrower focus |
| Goal is to help people understand the root causes of either long-standing performance problems/issues at work or long-standing personal problems | The goal is to improve an individuals life performance or performance at work i.e. the focus is on results |
| A short-term intervention, but can last for longer time periods due to the breadth of issues to be addressed | Tends for be a short-term intervention with a specific issue and outcome in mind |
| Counselling can be used to address psycho-social as well as performance issues | Coaching does not seek to resolve any underlying psychological problems. It assumes a person does not require a psycho-social intervention i.e. the person being coached is clinically well |
| The agenda is generally agreed by the individuals and the counsellor | The agenda is typically set by the individual (transformational coaching) or by the individual in agreement/ consultation with the organisation (executive coaching) |
| Other stakeholders are rarely involved | Other stakeholders may be involved (executive coaching) |